GxEQGRA 


mm 


IBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT  OR 


Received 
Accession  No  .  3  /  6 


.,  1900 
C/^ss  A^o  . 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 


COMPILED  AND  ARRANGED  B7 

JAMES  JOHOOTOT. 

AUTHOR  OF 

: COUNTRY    SCHOOL-HOUSES,"  "PRINCIPLES   AND   PRACTICE   OF   TEACHING,'1 

ETC. 


NEW  YORK  •:•  CINCINNATI  •:•  CHICAGO: 
AMERICAN    BOOK    COMPANY. 


OOPYRTOHT  BY 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY, 


PREFACE. 


THE  result  of  numerous  experiments  has  shown  that 
the  ability  to  read  may  be  acquired  incidentally  while  the 
attention  is  primarily  directed  to  some  subject  of  thought. 
The  philosophy  that  explains  this  result  also  indicates 
the  general  method  to  be  pursued.  At  each  stage  of  de- 
velopment such  subject-matter  is  to  be  brought  before 
the  learner  as  constitutes  the  best  aliment  for  the  mind's 
growth  at  the  time,  and,  when  books  are  used,  this  sub- 
ject-matter is  to  be  presented  in  an  attractive  literary 
form.  The  food  should  be  palatable  as  well  as  nutritious. 
In  the  processes  of  receiving,  assimilating,  and  expressing 
the  thoughts  contained  in  these  literary  productions,  pu- 
pils, without  direct  and  conscious  effort,  learn  to  read,  to 
write,  and  to  spell,  and  to  tell  what  they  have  learned 
both  orally  and  in  writing. 

It  is  of  prime  moment  that  reading  exercises  should 
be  adapted  to  the  condition  of  the  pupil's  mind  at  each 
period  of  growth  ;  that  the  subject-matter  should  be  both 
intelligible  and  interesting  ;  and  that  the  modes  of  expres- 
sion be  such  as  will  constitute  appropriate  models  of  style, 
and  will  awaken  sensibilities  in  the  direction  of  literary 
excellence.  One  method  of  securing  these  desirable  les- 
sons is  by  the  use  of  reading- books  that  treat  of  the  top- 


1V  PREFACE. 

ics  upon  which  the  pupils  a>re  engaged  in  study  at  the 
time — the  additional  and  attractive  details  of  the  reading 
exciting  a  greater  interest  in  the  study. 

Every  subject  in  school  may  be  presented  in  outline 
or  in  detail.  Text-books  are  necessarily  in  outline.  To 
fill  them  up  with  detail  would  be  to  make  them  too  bulky 
and  too  costly  for  use.  But  all  children  love  stories.  The 
detail  to  them  is  the  interesting  part.  They  are  intent 
upon  finding  the  what  first,  and  the  how  and  why  after- 
ward. 

The  ordinary  reading-lessons  furnished  pupils  treat 
of  subjects  which  have  little  or  no  relation  to  the  studies 
pursued.  From  an  unwise  promotion  in  classes  these 
lessons  are  frequently  above  the  comprehension  of  pupils 
both  in  thought  and  expression,  and  reading  of  necessity 
becomes  a  merely  mechanical  process.  The  pronunciation 
of  words  is  substituted  for  a  natural  and  intelligent  ex- 
pression of  ideas. 

This  volume  has  been  compiled  to  furnish  thought- 
reading  to  pupils  while  engaged  upon  the  study  of  geog- 
raphy. Its  aim  is  to  furnish  supplementary  reading  in  a 
single  line  of  study.  The  articles  selected  treat  of  geo- 
graphical topics  in  detail.  The  order  of  the  topics  is  the 
same  as  is  found  in  any  well-arranged  text-book  on  the 
subject.  One  or  more  illustrative  descriptions  are  given 
in  each  general  division,  and  the  special  lesson  should  be 
read  when  the  same  general  topic  is  studied. 

The  objects  which  may  be  attained  by  the  use  of  this 
book  are  briefly  as  follows  : 

First.  The  lessons  are  read  for  the  matter  which  they 
contain,  the  process  of  reading  becoming  so  nearly  uncon- 
scious that  a  natural  delivery  is  the  almost  inevitable 
result. 


PREFACE.  v 

Second.  The  selections  made  give  to  the  pupil  valu- 
able specific  information,  and  awaken  in  him  an  interest 
in  both  the  facts  and  in  the  philosophy  of  geographical 
phenomena. 

Third.  Each  lesson  read  may  be  taken  as  a  topic  for 
discussion  in  the  class,  leading  to  further  investigation  on 
the  part  of  the  pupils,  and  to  further  instruction  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher. 

Fourth.  The  pupils  may  be  called  upon  to  reproduce 
the  thoughts  of  each  lesson  in  their  own  language,  form 
ing  a  valuable  exercise  in  topical  recitation  or  in  written 
composition. 

Fifth.  By  means  of  the  interest  in  the  lessons,  the  pu- 
pils are  incited  to  more  extensive  reading,  and  new  worlds 
of  thought  are  opened  to  their  view. 

Sixth.  The  books  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
extracts  made  become  a  guide  to  the  pupil  in  future  study 
and  investigation. 

Seventh.  By  a  judicious  use  of  this  and  similar  books, 
the  pupils  gradually  form  habits  of  observation,  reading, 
and  thinking,  which  serve  as  a  protection  against  the  at- 
traction of  bad  books,  and  as  an  introduction  into  all  that 
is  noblest  and"  best  in  literature. 


PART  I. 
MOUNTAINS  AND    GLACIERS. 

PAGE 

Glaciers  of  the  Alps Benjamin  Silliman.  1 

Formation  of  Glaciers North  British  Review.  6 

Movement  of  Glaciers North  British  Review.  10 

Hymn  to  Mont  Blanc Coleridge.  13 

Kilimandjaro..  ........... Bayard  Taylor.  17 

PART  II. 
BASINS  AND   PLAINS. 

The  Great  Basin  of  the  Rocky  Mountains Horace  Greeley.  20 

The  Great  Dismal  Swamp  .  .  . , Sir  Charles  Lyett.  23 

The  Lake  of  the  Dismal  Swamp Thomas  Moore.  25 

PART  III. 
EARTHQUAKES   AND    VOLCANOES. 

Destruction  of  Herculaneum Harper's  Magazine.  28 

Pompeii B.  Silliman.  30 

Eruption  of  Mount  Etna Bayard  Taylor.  36 

Earthquakes  in  Calabria  in  the  year  1638 Goldsmith.  41 

The  Great  Earthquake  at  Lisbon Harper's  Magazine.  45 

Earthquakes  in  America  in  1811-' 12 Harper's  Magazine.  49 

Monte  Nuovo. .......  0 52 


Viii  CONTENTS. 

PART  IV. 

RIVERS  AND   LAKES.  PAGE 

Egypt  and  the  Nile George  W.  Curtis.     56 

The  Dead  Sea ....  Charles  W.  Eliot.     60 

Lake  Titicaca  and  its  Sacred  Islands E.  G.  Squier.     63 

PART  V. 
THE  ATMOSPHERE,    WINDS,    AND    STORMS. 

The  Atmosphere „ E.  L.  Youmans.  70 

A  Tornado  in  Ohio Audubon.  71 

The  Clouds Shelley.  74 

The  Harmattan Robert  Tomes.  77 

Colored  Rain  and  Snow Edwin  Dunkin.  78 

PART  VI. 

CLIMATE  AND    VEGETATION. 

Contrasts  of  Climate  and  Vegetation Arnold  Guyot.     82 

Climate  of  Europe  and  America N.  P.  Willis.     86 

Vegetation  at  Panama A.  D.  Richardson.     89 

PART  VII. 
MOUNTAIN  ROADS  AND   PASSES. 

The  Riviera  Road Benjamin  Silliman.     91 

The  Fight  of  Paso  del  Mar Bayard  Taylor.     92 

Passage  of  St.  Bernard  by  Napoleon.. .John  8.  C.  Abbott     95 

PART  VIIL 
ARCTIC  REGIONS. 

An  Esquimaux  Hut Dr.  Isaac  I.  Hayes.  101 

The  Aurora  Borealis Bayard  Taylor.  105 

Arctic  Ice...  .  .Eclectic  Review.  107 


CONTENTS.  ix 

PART  IX. 
TROPICAL   REGIONS.  PAGE 

Tropical  Insects . . Humboldt.  113 

The  Bashikonay  or  Army  Ant ,.Du  Chaillu.  117 

PART  X. 
NATURAL    CURIOSITIES. 

The  Natural  Bridge,  Virginia .  General  Strother.  122 

The  Mammoth  Cave L.  Maria  Child.  125 

Falls  of  the  Zambesi ^ Livingston.  136 

Coral  Islands '. Mary  Somerville.  139 

The  Geysers  of  Iceland •/.  Ross  Browne.  143 

Visit  te  the  Geysers  of  California A.  D.  Richardson.  151 

The  Geysers  of  the  National  Park Lieutenant  Barlow.  155 

The  Yosemite  Valley A.  D.  Richardson.  158 

The  Big  Trees  of  California. . A.  D.  Richardson.  165 

The  Cedars  of  Lebanon Jacob  Abbott.  168 

The  Maelstrom Bayard  Taylor.  173 

PART  XL 
WILD   ANIMALS. 

Lion-Hunting  by  G6rard Harper's  Magazine.  175 

Lion-Hunting  by  Gordon  Gumming Harper's  Magazine.  177 

Tiger-Hunting  in  India /.  .Harper's  Magazine.  179 

Elephant -Hunting  in  Ceylon 183 

Hunting  the  Ostrich 187 

The  Gorilla Du  Chaillu.  190 

PART  XII. 
NATIONAL    CHARACTERISTICS. 

Rural  Life  in  Sweden Longfellow.  193 

Asirvadam  the  Brahman Atlantic  Monthly.  197 

Child-Life  by  the  Ganges.  .  .  » .  „ Atlantic  Monthly.  202 

Japanese  Scenery ., Reward's  Travels.  206 


*  CONTENTS. 

PART   XIII. 

PECULIAR    CUSTOMS.  PAOB 

Buddhist  Temple  and  Worship Joseph  Dalton  Hooker.  210 

Bazaars  of  Constantinople N.  P.  Willis.  213 

Reindeer-Traveling .Bayard  Taylor.  217 

PART   XIV. 
ISLANDS  AND  ISLANDERS. 

The  Faroe  Islands J.  Ross  Browne.  220 

Reykiavik,  the  Capital  of  Iceland ,'.  .J.  Ross  Browne.  222 

PART  XV. 
PECULIAR   REGIONS  AND   PEOPLE. 

The  Gauchos Atlantic  Monthly.  226 

The  Llanos  and  Llaneros Atlantic  Monthly.  229 

Aborigines  of  Australia Alfred  H.  Guernsey.  233 

Monaco W.  F.  Roe.  235 

Annam  and  its  People Temple  Bar.  237 

The  Ainos Isabella  L.  Bird.  242 

PART   XVI. 

CITIES. 

Peking..... 245 

Cairo Bayard  Taylor.  247 

Edinburgh .  .N.  P.  Willis.  251 

Damascus Kinglake.  253 

Approach  to  Jerusalem Seward's  Travels.  256 

PART  XVIL 
RUINS   OF  ANCIENT  CITIES. 

A  Visit  to  Baalbec. Bayard  Taylor.  258 

Denderah Bayard  Taylor.  262 

Karnak Bayard  Taylor.  266 

The  Rock  City  of  Petra John  L.  Stephens.  270 


CONTENTS.  xi 

PART  XVIII. 

REMARKABLE  MODERN   WORKS.  PAGE 

The  Dikes  of  Holland 274 

The  Taj  Mahal  at  Agra. Bayard  Taylor.  277 

The  Slide  at  Alpnach.. .  . . 282 

Ice-Hills  in  Russia 285 

PART  XIX. 

REMARKABLE   ANCIENT    WORKS. 

A"  Visit  to  the  Pyramids John  L.  Stephens.  287 

Egyptian  Tombs  and  Mummies Belzoni.  290 

The  Tombs  of  Thebes Bayard  Taylor.  294 

Visit  to  the  Cave  of  Elephanta Seward's  Travels.  299 

The  Catacombs  of  Rome 302 

Roads  of  the  Incas William  H.  Prescott.  306 

The  Alhambra Washington  Irving.  309 

The  Cliff-Dwellers 319 

PART   XX. 
MISCELLANEO  US. 

The  Salt  Mines  of  Wieliczka Bayard  Taylor.  326 

The  Varanger  Fiord Bayard  Taylor.  330 

Gate  at  Nan-Kow Sward's  Travels.  332 

Earthquake  in  the  East  Indies 336 

Visit  to  Kilauea,  Sandwich  Islands Mrs.  Brassey.  337 

The  Valley  of  Desolation Geo.  W.  Curtis.  345 

The  Geysers  of  the  Yellowstone Edward  J.  Stanley.  352 

Clouds „  .  .Professor  John  Tyndall.  360 

LakeTahoe H.  H.  365 

Colorado  Scenery H.  H.  375 

Sydney  Smith's  Review  of  Waterton's  Travels 383 

Rural  Scenes  in  England NatJianiel  Hawthorne.  390 

Summer  and  Winter  Life  in  Lapland Paul  du  Chaillu.  401 

Moslem  Empire  in  Spain Washington  Irving.  408 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 
UPPER  PART  OF  THE  GLACIER  OF  SCHWARZE  IN  THE  ALPS      .  .         4 

MONT  BLANC,  FROM  ABOVE  MORGES  .  14 

ERUPTION  OF  MOUNT  ETNA       ....  .36 

VIEW  OF  LAKE  TITICACA    .....  64 

FORMS  AND  TRANSITIONS  OF  WATER     .  .  .  .  .75 

HOSPICE  OF  THE  GREAT  ST.  BERNARD         ....  96 

ESQUIMAUX  LIFE  .....  .     102 

ICE-FIELDS  IN  THE  ARCTIC  REGIONS  .  .  .  .109 

RETURN  OF  ANTS  AFTER  A  BATTLE  (Magnified).  .  .  .118 

MAMMOTH  DOME      ...  .  129 

VARIETIES  OF  CORAL    .  .  .  .  .  .141 

THE  GIANT  GEYSER  .  .157 

YOSEMITE  VALLEY         .  .....     161 

GIANT  TREES  .  .  .  166 

THE  TIGER  IN  ITS  NATIVE  JUNGLE      ,  .  .  .  .180 

A  JAPANESE  TEMPLE  .  .  ...  207 

MONACO  ........     236 

CAIRO  FROM  THE  EAST         .  .  .  249 

STREET  IN  OLD  EDINBURGH       ......     252 

PART  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  DENDERAH          ....  263 

COLUMNS  AT  KARNAK  .  .     267 

TAJ  MAHAL  .  ...  278 

THE  PYRAMIDS  OF  GIZEH         .......    288 


xiv  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS, 

PAGE 

TRIAD  FIGURE,  INTERIOR  OF  TEMPLE  AT  ELEPHANTA          .            „  300 

THE  ALHAMBRA,  FROM  THE  ALBAYCIN  .            .            .            .  .310 

INTERIOR  OF  THE  ALHAMBRA. — HALL  OF  THE  ABENCERRAGES         .  316 
THE  SALT  MINES  OF  WIELICZKA           .....     327 

GATE  AT  NAN-Kow              ......  333 

CRATER  OF  KILAUEA     .             .             .             .             ...  .     343 

THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  JORDAN,  FROM  THE  CONVENT  OF  ST.  JOHN  .  350 

MAJOR  DOMO,  GLEN  EYRIE,  COLORADO                          .            .  .     878 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


PART  I. 
MOUNTAINS  AND  GLACIERS. 


GLACIERS   OF   THE   ALPS. 

1.  MEE  DE  GLACE. — This  mountain  (Montagne  Vert) 
is  very  steep  and  rocky.    It  is  exceedingly  incumbered  with 
its  own  immense  ruins,  which  in  the  course  of  ages  have 
rolled  down  from  its  summit  and  lodged  either  at  its  base 
or  on  its  flanks.     There  are  piles  on  piles  of  rocks,  and 
some  of   them  are  of  great  dimensions,  among  which  to 
clear  even  a  mule-path  has  evidently  been  a  work  of  great 
labor  and  difficulty.    The  zigzag  ascent  winds  around  turns 
which  are  very  abrupt  and  frequent.    They  often  pass  along 
the  edge  of  fearful  precipices,  where  a  false  step  would 
send  the  mule  and  the  rider  to  destruction. 

2.  The  ascent  occupied  two  hours  and  a  half,  when  we 
arrived  at  the  hotel  near  the  top  of  the  mountain,  which 
falls  but  a  few  hundred  feet  short  of  being  as  high  as 
Mount  Washington  ;  our  position  enabled  us  to  look  down 
upon  the  Mer  de  Glace,  and,  being  furnished  each  with  an 
alpenstock,  we  cautiously  descended  the  bank  of  the  mount- 
ain, which  inclines  down  a  gentle  slope  to  the  sea  of  ice. 

3.  Arrived  upon  its  immense  and  cold  bosom,  we  looked 
eagerly  around  and  saw  that  it  was  indeed  a  sea  of  ice,  or, 


2  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

rather,  it  is  like  a  great  river  suddenly  congealed  in  the 
midst  of  a  tempest.  By  a  little  practice  with  our  poles, 
pointed  with  iron,  we  acquired  confidence,  and  made  excur- 
sions in  various  directions. 

4.  This  glacier  is,  indeed,  a  wonder.     From  the  mount 
am-top  it  descends  more  than  twenty  miles,  and  has  an 
extent,  as  our  guide  assured  us,  of  more  than  fifty,  if  all  the 
ramifications  are  included  ;  it  reaches  quite  down  into  the 
valley  of  Chamouni.     The  breadth  of  this  glacier,  in  that 
portion  which  was  under  our  immediate  inspection,  is  from 
half  a  mile  to  a  mile.     It  is,  at  present,  much  divided  by 
cross-fissures  or  crevasses,  which  grow  more  numerous  as 
the  season  advances.     The  glacier,  by  moving  downward 
at  the  rate  of  more  than  a  foot  in  a  day,  is  impeded  by  the 
rocky  bottom,  and  as  the  ice,  thus  hooked  and  grappled  by 
the  pointed  rocks,  hangs  there  in  opposition  to  gravity, 
which  is  constantly  urging  the  mass  downward,  it  cracks, 
forming  those  open  fissures  which  the  French  call  crevasses. 

5.  An  intelligible  description  of  a  glacier  is  not  an  easy 
thing.     It  is  not,  as  one  might  suppose,  a  smooth,  glassy 
surface,  like  a  quiet,  congealed  lake  ;  possibly,  in  the  very 
elevated  regions,  it  may  have  that  appearance,  but  in  these 
lower  regions  it  is  a  continuous  series  of  masses,  connected, 
indeed,  below,  but  so  separated  above  by  the  fissures  that 
the  portions  appear  like  vast  white  rocks — white  originally, 
but  the  fine  fragments  and  dust  of  the  granite  and  other 
rocks,  disintegrated  by  the  weather,  on  the  exposed  clift's, 
and  blown  down  upon  the  surface  of  the  glaciers,  gives 
them  that  soiled  and  dingy  aspect  which  they  present. 

6.  It  has  often  been  remarked  by  those  who  have  exam- 
ined the  glaciers  that  rocks  and  stones  falling  upon  them 
are  buried  in  the  falling  snows  of  the  higher  regions,  and, 
by   the   melting   and  freezing  of    the  snow,  they  become 
eventually  buried  in  solid  ice.     In  the  progress  of  years, 
and  in  the  succession  of  summers,  as  the  glacier  advances 


MOUNTAINS  AND   GLACIERS.  3 

downward,  bearing  along  these  rocks  and  stones,  they  are 
disclosed  by  the  melting  of  their  covering,  and  thus  they 
come  into  view  as  if  they  had  actually  risen.  Sometimes 
they  so  effectually  cover  and  protect  the  ice  on  which  they 
lie  that  it  does  not  sensibly  melt  beneath  them,  while  the 
general  surface  all  around  is  lowered  by  the  melting,  and 
thus  it  happens  that  a  rock  may  stand  on  a  pedestal  of  ice 
sometimes  several  feet  or  yards  above  the  general  level — and 
many  such  rocks  may  be  in  view  at  once  ;  but  eventually 
the  pedestals  give  way,  and  the  elevated  rocks  fall  to  the 
common  level. 

7.  The  fissures  and  crevasses  are  so  numerous  and  deep, 
and  their  edges  are  so  slippery,  that  great  care  is  requisite 
at  all  times  to  avoid  falling  into  them.      When  they  are 
concealed  by  snow  arched  over  them,  the  danger  becomes 
imminent,  and  in  such  cases  the  cautious  guides  try  the 
soundness  of  the  footing  by  applying  the  iron-pointed  al- 
penstock.    The  sides  of   the  crevasses  are  of   a  splendid 
blue-green  color,  and  the  ice  often  contains  pools  of  pellu- 
cid water.     The  more  superficial  cavities  are  little  lakes, 
accessible  without  danger,  and  the  water,  from  its  purity 
and  coldness,   is  very  refreshing  to  the  traveler.     Rills  of 
water,  coursing  over  the  surface,  plunge  into  the  crevasses 
and  are  lost — all  but  the  musical  murmur  of  their  fall. 

8.  The  first  appearance  of  the  glaciers  is  like  that  of  a 
fearfully  agitated  ocean,  tossed  by  violent  and  conflicting 
and  eddying  winds,  congealed  ere  the  billows  have  had  time 
to  subside,  and  thus  preserving  all  its  high  ridges,  its  peaks, 
and  deep  hollows.     Still,  there  is  a  degree  of  regularity  in 
the  confusion  ;  the  tumult  has  observed  a  law  which  has 
opened  the  fissures,  in  curves,  parallel,  and  nearly  at  right 
angles  to  the  rocky  banks,  the  convexity  being  downward 
from  its  source. 

9.  At  the  usual  rate  of  descent,  a  rock  which  fell  upon 
a  high  glacier  two  hundred  years  ago  may  only  just  now 


4  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

have  reached  its  final  resting-place  in  the  lower  country  ; 
and  a  block  larger  than  the  largest  of  Egyptian  obelisks 
may  occupy  the  time  of  six  generations  of  men  in  its  de- 
scent before  it  is  laid  low  in  the  common  grave  of  its  prede- 
cessors. 

10.  The  glaciers  often  terminate  so  abruptly  that  corn 
has  often  been  seen  to  grow  next  to  the  glacier,  and  the  in- 


Upper  Part  of  the  Glacier  of  Schwarze,  in  the  Alps, 

habitants  have  gathered  ripe  cherries  while  standing  with 
one  foot  on  the  tree  and  the  other  on  the  glacier. 

11.  The  lower  end  of  Mer  de  Glace  is  called  Glacier  de 
Bois.     We  made  an  excursion  from  our  hotel  up  the  valley 


MOUNTAINS  AND    GLACIERS,  5 

to  inspect  an  arch  formed  in  the  glacier,  and  to  observe  the 
violent  eruption  of  water  at  the  foot  of  this  immense  mass 
of  ice,  which  is  here  from  ten  to  a  hundred  feet  thick,  and 
stands  out  vertically  quite  above  the  ground.  This  is 
merely  the  lower  end  of  the  glacier,  which  has  pushed  be- 
fore it  vast  accumulations  composed  of  sand,  gravel,  stones, 
and  large  rocks,  forming  high  mounds,  and  called  the  ter- 
minal moraine.  At  present  the  moraine  is  about  forty 
feet  in  advance  of  the  glacier,  and  records  the  fact  that 
formerly  it  advanced  thus  far,  and  that  it  has  since  rece- 
ded. Now,  however,  it  is  again  advancing  at  the  rate  of  a 
foot  a  day.  It  is  expected  that  in  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks,  or  months,  it  will  recover  its  former  position,  and 
not  improbably  advance  still  farther. 

12.  GLACIER  DE  BOISSONS. — We  next  resorted  to  the 
Glacier  de  Boissons,  two  or  three  miles  farther  down  the 
valley ;  this,  like  the  Glacier  de  Bois,  reaches  the  lower 
country  in  the  valley.     In  order  to  obtain  a  good  view,  we 
passed  beyond  and  around  it,  ascending  by  a  circuit  of  a 
mile  and  a  half,  in  order  to  approach  the  side  of  the  glacier 
at  some  distance  from  its  termination.     This  magnificent 
glacier — the    immediate    representative    of    the   monarch 
mountain,  since  it  descends  from  its  icy  dome — is  hardly  in- 
ferior in  magnitude  and  length  to  that  of  Mer  de  Glace, 
and  has  one  interesting  peculiarity. 

13.  The  inclined  plane  on  which  it  descends  is  steeper 
than  that  of  the  Glacier  de  Bois,  and  has  in  the  lower  part 
of  its  course  no  lateral  barrier  of  rock  to  obstruct  the  view. 
This  immense  congealed  river  of  ice,  therefore,  stands  out 
bodily,  and  shows  its  enormous  bulk  in  full  relief.     We  ap- 
proached it  within  one  hundred  yards  ;  but  no  human  foot 
can,  with  safety,  be  placed  upon  its  surface.     The  fissures 
and  crevasses,  such  as  were  described  in  connection  with 
Mer  de  Glace,  have  here  done  their  work  perfectly. 

14.  The  icy  masses  are  so  dissevered  that  they  appear 


6  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

like  an  immense  group  of  white  marble  columns,  or  ruins, 
standing  in  near  proximity,  but  still  separated  from  each 
other,  so  that  they  rise  up  in  distinct  individuality,  or  are 
blended  at  the  bottom  of  the  glacier. 

15.  Some  of  these  masses  are  one  hundred  feet  high  ; 
occasionally  they  attain  double  that  height ;  and  as  the  array 
of  this  cold  army,  in  the  portion  where  the  lateral  view  is 
unobstructed,  extends  a  mile  and  a  half,  and  in  breadth 
half  that  distance,  the  spectacle  is  beyond  conception  grand, 
especially  as  these  towering  masses  fall  over  with  the  crash 
of  an  avalanche.  While  we  were  looking  on  at  the  close  of 
a  warm  day,  one  of  these  lofty  pinnacles,  losing  its  foot- 
hold, toppled  over  with  a  terrific  concussion.  The  ice  of 
these  glaciers  has  great  purity,  and  is  not  soiled  by  dust  as 
on  the  Mer  de  Glace. 

Benjamin  Silliman. 


FORMATION    OF   GLACIERS. 

1.  A  GLACIER  is  a  mass  of  ice  lying  in  Alpine  valleys, 
or  resting  on  the  flanks  of  mountains.     It  is  produced  from 
the   accumulation   of   perpetual   snow   in   the  hollows   of 
mountains,  which  detaches  itself  from  their  summit,  and 
descends  into  the  valleys.     It  then  becomes  solid  ice,  which 
melts  when  it  comes  in  contact  with  the  warmer  air,  earth, 
and  rains  of ^  the  valley,  the  quantity  melted  being  replaced 
from  the  reservoirs  of  snow  in  the  higher  mountains.     In 
order  to  distinguish  a  glacier  from  an  iceberg  Professor 
Forbes  describes  a  glacier  as  ice  in  motion  under  gravity. 

2.  Glaciers  are  found  in  nearly  every  mountainous  coun- 
try where  the  peaks  rise  above  the  regions  of  perpetual 
snow.     There   are,  however,   certain  forms,  positions,  or 
structures  of  mountains  that  do  not  permit  the  formation 
of  glaciers,  although  their  summits  are  above  the  snow-line. 


MOUNTAINS  AND   GLACIERS.  7 

A  mountain  too  steep  for  snow  to  adhere  to  its  sides  will 
have  no  glacier  ;  and  mountains  with  a  smooth  surface  will 
have  no  ravines  for  glaciers  to  rest  in. 

3.  When  seen  from  above  and  from  a  distance,  a  glacier 
resembles  a  long  stream  of  snow,  detaching  itself  from  the 
higher  mountain  peaks,  and  flowing  into  the  valleys  below  ; 
and  even  when  we  approach  it  closely,  we  still  believe  that 
it  is  a  line  of  snow,  and  can  hardly  persuade  ourselves  that 
it  is  an  enormous  mass   of  ice,  quite  different  in  aspect 
from  that  which  is  formed  on  our  lakes  and  rivers. 

4.  At  the  end  of  the  glacier  masses  of  stones  and  of 
rock,  that  have  been  transported  on  the  surface  of  the  gla- 
cier, are  deposited  in  heaps  or  mounds,  called  moraines; 
which  are  named  terminal  moraines  when  they  lie  in  front 
of  the  lower  end  of  the  glacier,  and  mark  the  greatest  limit 
of  its  extension. 

5.  "A  glacier,"  as  Professor  Forbes  remarks,  "is  seen 
to  have  withdrawn  itself  very  far  within  its  old  limits,  leav- 
ing a  prodigious  barren  waste  of  stones  in  advance  of  it, 
which,  being  devoid  of  soil,  nourishes  not  one  blade  of 
grass.     At  other  times  the  glacier  pushes  forward  its  mar- 
gin beyond  the  limit  which  it  has  ever  before  reached,  tears 
up  the  ground  with  its  icy  plowshare,  and  shoves  forward 
the  yielding  turf  in  wrinkled  folds,  uprooting  trees,  mov- 
ing vast  rocks,  and  scattering  the  walls  of  dwelling-houses 
in  fragments  before  its  irresistible  onward  march."     At  this 
end  of  the  glacier  the  ice  is  frequently  broken  up  by  cracks 
into  prismatic  masses,  which,  when  melted  by  the  sun  and 
rains,  take  the  shape  of  pyramids  of  the  most  grotesque 
forms. 

6.  On  ascending  to  the  surface  of  the  glacier,  the  trav- 
eler is  surprised  by  the  number  of  cracks  or  fissures,  called 
crevasses,  which  extend  across  it,  and  are,  generally  speak- 
ing, perpendicular  to  its  sides.    They  are  often  hundreds  of 
yards  long  and  hundreds  of  feet  deep.     These  cracks,  which 


8  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

are  seldom  quite  vertical,  are  found  principally  where  the 
declivity  of  the  glacier  is  great,  and  they  are  most  numer- 
ous, and  occur  in  groups,  round  the  projecting  points  of  its 
bed,  in  the  upper  and  middle  regions  of  the  glacier.  They 
are  sometimes  found  of  great  length,  but  comparatively 
narrower,  and  insulated  in  the  middle  of  the  glacier. 

7.  When  the  crevasses  are  rare,  the  surface  of  the  gla- 
cier presents  numerous  streamlets  of  limpid  water  of  con- 
siderable volume,  flowing  in  a  shining  channel,  and  excit- 
ing the  admiration  of  the  observer.     Agassiz  found  one  of 
these  upward  of  twelve  hundred  yards  long,  in  a  straight 
line.     They  disappear  when  the  crevasses  are  produced,  as 
the  water  soon  loses  itself  in  their  depths.     In  the  parts  of 
a  glacier  which  have  little  inclination,  the  streamlets,  when 
collected  into  a  mass,  rush  into  the  first  fissure  in  their 
course,  and  convert  it  into  an  open  vertical  shaft,  frequent- 
ly of  immense  depth,  and  generally  circular  or  elliptical. 

8.  The  phenomenon  of  glacier  tables  is  one  of  peculiar 
interest.     They  are  huge  and  flat  blocks  of  stone,  resting 
upon  high  pedestals  of  ice,  so  as  to  resemble  a  large  table. 
When  one  of  these  blocks  has  separated  itself  from  a  mo- 
raine, it  first  melts  the  ice  at  its  margin  ;  but,  as  it  protects 
the  ice  beneath  it  from  melting  and  evaporation,  while  the 
ice  around  it  disappears,  it  gradually  rises  till  it  is  poised  on 
the  column  upon  which  it  rests,  ail  the  ice  around  it  hav- 
ing melted  in  the  summer  at  the  rate  of  a  foot  per  week. 
Agassiz  has  seen  blocks  of  this  kind  20  feet  long  and  10 
or  12  wide     and  in  1840  he  observed  one  15  feet  long,  12 
feet  wide,  and  6  feet  high,  detach  itself  from  its  icy  pedes- 
tal and  slide  to  a  distance  of  30  feet,  crushing  to  powder 
the  ice  over  which  it  passed.     In  June,  1842,  Professor 
Forbes  saw,  on  the  Mer  de  Glace,  one  of  these  tables,  23 
feet  by  17,  and  3|  feet  thick.     It  was  then  easily  accessi- 
ble ;  but  as  the  season  advanced  it  apparently  rose  rapid- 
ly, till,  on  the  6th  of   August,  the  pillar  of   ice  was  13 


MOUNTAINS  AND    GLACIERS.  9 

feet  high.  About  the  end  of  August  it  slipped  from  its 
icy  column,  and  in  September  it  was  beginning  to  rise  upon 
a  new  one. 

9.  Glaciers  have  their  origin  in  the  higher  parts  of  the 
mountain.     They  commence  in  the  fields  or  reservoirs  of 
powdery  or  crystalline  snow,  which  occupy  the  shoulders 
and  plateaus  of  mountains.     In  its  descent  or  overflow  this 
snow  becomes  more  granular,  and  forms  what  is  called  the 
neve  in  French.     This  neve  is  the  true  origin  and  material 
of  the  glacier.     Its  leading  characteristic  is  uniformity  of 
appearance,  having  neither  moraines,  streamlets,  tables,  nor 
aiguilles  ;  and,  in  consequence  of  this  uniformity,  it  is  easy 
to  determine  the  line  of  the  neve  where  the  glacier  or  the 
region  of  compact  ice  commences,  with  its  moraines,  stream- 
lets, tables,  gravel  cones,  aiguilles,  baignoires,  and  meridian 
holes. 

10.  Crevasses  are  so  rare  in  the  neve  that  M.  Agassiz  has 
walked  more  than  a  league  on  the  neve  of  Aletsch  without 
meeting  a  single  one,  and  it  is  very  seldom  that  its  surface 
has  any  of  the  inequalities  of  the  compact  ice.     The  smooth 
neve  is  distinctly  stratified,  consisting  of  horizontal  annual 
layers  or  beds,   produced   by  successive   snow-falls.     The 
stratification  extends  to  a  great  depth ;  but  in  the  transi- 
tion state  of  the  neve  into  glacier,  "the  ice-falls  which  pro- 
duce them  succeeding  one  another,"  according  to  Professor 
Forbes,  "at  regulated  intervals,  corresponding  to  the  re- 
newal of  each  summer's  activity."     "Stratified  appearance 
ceases  at  an  inconsiderable  depth,  the  interior  of  the  mass 
being  granular  and  without   structure   or  bands  of  any 

kind." 

North  British  Review. 


10  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 


MOVEMENT   OF   GLACIERS. 

1.  AMONG  the  remarkable  facts  connected  with  the  mo* 
tion  of  glaciers  is  their  oscillation,  or  their  advance  into 
the  valley,  and  their  retreat  from  their  advanced  position,, 
When  a  great  quantity  of  snow  falls  on  the  mountains  the 
mass  of  the  glacier  is  increased,  and  it  is  pushed  forward 
into  the  valley ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  glacier  will 
retreat  when  less  snow  is  supplied  to  the  neve,  and  when 
there  is  a  succession  of  warm  summers.     The  advance  of 
glaciers  is  often  accompanied  with  the  most  disastrous  inun- 
dations.    According  to  M.  Venetz,  a  glacier  in  the  valley  of 
Hereus  advanced  with  a  noise  like  that  of  thunder,  and 
with  steps  nearly  ten  feet  long  ! 

2.  In  the  year  1818  the  advance  of  the  glacier  Getroz 
was  attended  with  the  most  distressing  consequences.    This 
glacier   is   situated   amid   the   defiles   of   Mont   Pleuveur. 
It  terminates  in  a  cliff  of  enormous  height,  over  which,  in 
the  advance  of  the  glacier,  avalanches  of  icy  fragments  are 
precipitated,  and  form  a  secondary  glacier,  resembling  masses 
of  unmelted  snow.     In  1545  and  1595  this  second  glacier 
advanced  so  as  to  dam  up  the  river  Dranse,  which  waters 
the  Val  de  Bagnes.     When  the  icy  barrier  gave  way  under 
the  heat  of  summer,  the  accumulated  water  rushed  out  with 
irresistible  force,  charged  with  enormous  masses  of  rock, 
tearing  up  and  destroying  everything  in  its  course,  till  it 
fell  into  the  Rhone.     In  1545,  140  persons  perished  in  the 
flood  ;  and  in  1595,  when  it  destroyed  the  town  of  Mar- 
tigny,  the  peasantry  who  dwelt  in  the  valleys  were  reduced 
to  abject  poverty,  and  from  sixty  to  eighty  perished  in  the 
torrent. 

3.  For  some  years  previous  to  1818  the  avalanches  of  ice 
and  snow  had  enlarged  the  secondary  glacier  ;  and,  as  soon 
as  it  was  able  to  resist  the  summer  heat,  it  then  acquired 


MOUNTAINS  AND   GLACIERS.  H 

new  magnitude,  and  from  a  height  of  100  feet  it  descended 
a  declivity  of  45°  and  threw  itself,  in  the  form  of  a  homo- 
geneous mass  of  ice,  across  the  Dranse,  the  base  of  the  cone 
resting  on  the  precipitous  flanks  of  Mont  Mauvoisin,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  valley.  In  the  month  of  April, 
when  the  river  was  completely  stopped,  a  lake  continued  to 
form  till  it  became  nearly  three  miles  long,  its  absolute 
average  breadth  400  feet,  its  average  depth  200  feet,  and  its 
contents  at  least  800,000,000  cubic  feet. 

4.  The  certainty  of  its  bursting  having  been  perceived, 
M.  Venetz,  an  able  engineer,  began,  on  the  10th  of  May,  to 
cut  a  tunnel  through  the  ice  in  order  to  drain  it ;  and  by 
the  13th  of  June  it  was  completed.    The  tunnel  was  68  feet 
long ;  and  by  the  16th  of  June  the  height  of  the  lake  was 
diminished  45  feet,  and  its  contents  reduced  to  500,000,000 
cubic   feet.  '    In  this  process  the   water   flowing  over  the 
lower  end  of  the  tunnel  melted  the  ice,  and  reduced  it  to  a 
few  feet ;  while  the  water  of  the  lake,  penetrating  the  cre- 
vasses of  the  glacier,  detached  from  it  enormous  fragments, 
and  weakened  it  to  such  a  degree  that  the  cascade  excavated 
a  passage  when  the  glacier  rested  upon  Mont  Mauvoisin. 

5.  "As  soon  as  this  happened,  the  water  rushed  out, 
the  ice  gave  way  with  a  tremendous  crash,  the  lake  was 
emptied  in  half  an  hour,  and  the  sea  of  water  which  it  con- 
tained precipitated  itself  with  a  rapidity  and  violence  which 
it  is  impossible  to  describe.      The  fury  of  this  raging  flood 
was  first  staid  by  the  narrow  gorge  below  the  glacier,  formed 
between  Mont  Pleuveur  and  Mont  Mauvoisin. 

6.  "  Here  it  was  ingulfed  with  such  force  that  it  car- 
ried away  the  bridge  of  Mauvoisin,  ninety  feet  above  the 
Dranse,  and  even  rose  several  fathoms  above  the  advanced 
mass  of  the  mountain.     From  this  narrow  gorge  the  flood 
spread  itself  over  a  wider  part  of  the  valley,  which  again 
contracted  in  another  gorge  ;  and  in  this  way,  passing  from 
one  basin  to  another,  it  acquired  new  violence,  and  carried 


12  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

along  with  it  forests,  rocks,  houses,  barns,  and  cultivated 
land. 

7.  "When  it  reached  Le  Chable,  one  of  the  principal 
villages  of  the  valley,  the  flood,  which  seemed  to  contain 
more  debris  than  water,  was  pent  up  between  the  piers  of 
a  solid  bridge  nearly  fifty  feet  above  the  Dranse,  and  began 
to  attack  the  inclined  plane  upon  which  the  church  and 
the  chief  part  of  the  village  is  built.     An  additional  rise 
of  a  few  feet  would  have  instantly  undermined  the  village  ; 
but  at  this  critical  moment  the  bridge  gave  way,  and  car- 
ried with  it  the  houses  at  its  two  extremities.     The  flood 
now  spread  itself  over  the  wide  part  of  the  valley  between 
Le  Chable  and  St.   Branchier,  undermining  and  destroy- 
ing and  hurrying  away  the  houses,  the  roads,  the  richest 
crops,  and  the  finest  trees  loaded  with  fruit. 

8.  "Instead  of  being  incumbered  with  these  spoils,  the 
moving  chars  received  from  them  new  force  ;  and,  when  it 
reached  the  narrow  valley  from  St.  Branchier  to  Martigny, 
it  continued  its  work  of  destruction  till  its  fury  became 
weakened  by  expanding  itself  over  the  great  plain  formed 
by  the  valley  of  the  Rhone.     After  ravaging  Le  Bourg  and 
the  village  of  Martigny,  it  fell  with  comparative  tranquillity 
into  the  Rhone,  leaving  behind  it,  on  the  plain  of  Mar- 
tigny, the  wreck  of  houses  and  of  furniture,  thousands  of 
trees  torn  up  by  the  roots,  and  the  bodies  of  men  and  of 
animals  whom  it  had  swept  away.    As  the  flood  took  half  an 
hour  in  passing  every  point  which  it  reached,  it  follows  that 
it  furnished  300,000  cubic  feet  of  water  every  second." 

9.  In  1819  a  catastrophe  of  a  different  kind  was  occa- 
sioned by  the  glacier  of  Randa,  situated  six  leagues  from 
Virge  and  in  the  valley  of  St.  Nicholas.     At  6  A.   M.  on 
the  27th  of  December  a  part  of  the  glacier  detached  itself 
from  the  side  of  the  Weisshorn,  and  fell  with  a  noise  like 
thunder  on  the  lower  masses  of  the  glacier.     At  the  same 
instant  the  cure  saw  a  bright  light,  which  was  followed  by 


MOUNTAINS  AND   GLACIERS.  13 

great  darkness.  A  violent  gust  of  wind  which  immediately 
followed  the  light  transported  mill-stones  several  fathoms, 
uprooted  large  trees,  tossed  blocks  of  ice  upon  the  village, 
overturned  houses,  and  carried  the  beams  of  several  of  them 
into  the  forest  half  a  league  above  the  village.  The  de* 
tached  mass,  composed  of  snow,  ice,  and  stone,  covered  the 
meadow  with  its  fragments  to  the  extent  of  2,400  feet  long, 
1,000  wide,  and  150  deep,  equivalent  to  a  volume  of 
360,000,000  cubic  feet. 

10.  An  inundation  similar  to  that  of  the  Val  de  Bagnes 
took  place  in  1845,  in  the  valley  of  Eosenthal,  in  the  Tyrol, 
in  consequence  of  the  advance  of  the  united  glaciers  of 
Vernagt  and  Eofen,  which  do  not  meet  in  ordinary  seasons. 
In  1840  the  glacier  of  Rofen  increased  greatly,  and  advanced 
at  the  rate  of  about  1, 640  feet  annually.  At  the  end  of 
1844  the  two  glaciers  were  united,  and  advanced  at  the  rate 
of  five  and  a  half  feet  in  a  day,  increasing  both  in  width 
and  height.  It  was  subject  to  violent  movements,  which 
tore  up  its  mass  and  produced  detonations  like  thunder, 
which  resounded  through  the  valley.  At  last,  in  1845,  it 
passed  in  twelve  days  over  the  space  of  400  feet,  which  sepa- 
rated it  from  the  valley  of  Rosenthal,  and  cut  off  the  water 
which  flowed  in  the  upper  part  of  the  valley.  A  large  lake 
was  thus  formed,  and  on  the  13th  of  June  the 'dike  broke, 
and  the  water,  rushing  on,  produced  the  usual  disasters. 

North  British  Review, 


HYMN    TO    MONT    BLANC. 

1.  HAST  thou  a  charm  to  stay  the  morning-star 
In  his  steep  course  ?     So  long  he  seems  to  pause 
On  thy  bald  awful  head,  0  sovran  Blanc  ! 
The  Arve  and  Arveiron  at  thy  base 
Rave  ceaselessly  ;  but  thou,  most  awful  Form  ! 


14  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

Risest  from  forfch  thy  silent  sea  of  pines, 
How  silently  !     Around  thee  and  above 
Deep  is  the  air,  and  dark,  substantial,  black, 
An  ebon  mass  :  methinks  thou  piercest  it, 


.  Mont  Blanc,  from  above  Morges. 

As  with  a  wedge  !     But  when  I  look 


It  is  thine  own  calm  home,  thy  crystal  sin"  <\ 
Thy  habitation  from  eternity  ! 

0  dread  and  silent  Mount  !     I  gazed  upon  thee, 
Till  thou,  still  present  to  the  bodily  sense, 

Didst  vanish  from  my  thought  :  entranced  in  prayer 

1  worshiped  the  Invisible  alone. 

2.      Yet  like  some  sweet  beguiling  melody, 
So  sweet,  we  know  not  we  are  listening  to  it, 
Thou,  the  meanwhile,  wast  blending  with  my  thought, 


MOUNTAINS  AND   GLACIERS,  15 

Yea,  with  my  life  and  life's  own  secret  joy  : 
Till  the  dilating  Soul,  enrapt,  transfused, 
Into  the  mighty  vision  passing — there 
As  in  her  natural  form,  swelled  vast  to  Heaven  ! 

3.  Awake,  my  Soul  !  not  only  passive  praise 
Thou  owest !  not  alone  these  swelling  tears, 
Mute  thanks  and  secret  ecstasy  !     Awake, 

Voice  of  sweet  song  !    Awake,  my  Heart,  awake  ! 
Green  vales  and  icy  cliffs,  all  join  my  Hymn. 

4.  Thou  first  and  chief,  sole  sovran  of  the  Vale  ! 
0  struggling  with  the  darkness  all  the  night, 
And  visited  all  night  by  troops  of  stars, 

Or  when  they  climb  the  sky  or  when  they  sink  : 
Companion  of  the  morning-star  at  dawn, 
Thyself  Earth's  rosy  star,  and  of  the  dawn 
Co-herald  :  wake,  0  wake,  and  utter  praise  ! 
Who  sank  thy  sunless  pillars  deep  in  Earth  ? 
Who  filled  thy  countenance  with  rosy  light  ? 
Who  made  thee  parent  of  perpetual  streams  ? 

5.  And  you,  ye  five  wild  torrents  fiercely  glad  ! 
Who  called  you  forth  from  night  and  utter  death, 
From  dark  and  icy  caverns  called  you  forth, 
Down  those  precipitous,  black,  jagged  rocks, 
For  ever  shattered  and  the  same  for  ever  ? 

Who  gave  you  your  invulnerable  life, 

Your  strength,  your  speed,  your  fury,  and  your  joy. 

Unceasing  thunder  and  eternal  foam  ? 

And  who  commanded  (and  the  silence  came), 

Here  let  the  billows  stiffen,  and  have  rest  ? 

6.  Ye  ice-falls  !  ye  that  from  the  mountain's  brow 
Adown  enormous  ravines  slope  amain — 
Torrents,  methinks,  that  heard  a  mighty  voice, 
And  stopped  at  once  amid  their  maddest  plunge  ! 


16  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

Motionless  torrents  !  silent  cataracts  ! 

Who  made  you  glorious  as  the  gates  of  Heaven 

Beneath  the  keen  full  rnoon  ?    Who  bade  the  sun 

Clothe  you  with  rainbows  ?    Who,  with  living  flowers 

Of  loveliest  blue,  spread  garlands  at  your  feet  ? — 

God  !  let  the  torrents,  like  a  shout  of  nations, 

Answer  !  and  let  the  ice-plains  echo,  God  ! 

God  !  sing  ye  meadow-streams  with  gladsome  voice  ! 

Ye  pine-groves,  with  your  soft  and  soul-like  sounds  ! 

And  they  too  have  a  voice,  yon  piles  of  snow, 

And  in  their  perilous  fall  shall  thunder  God  ! 

7°       Ye  living  flowers  that  skirt  the  eternal  frost ! 
Ye  wild  goats  sporting  round  the  eagle's  nest ! 
Ye  eagles,  playmates  of  the  mountain-storm  ! 
Ye  lightnings,  the  dread  arrows  of  the  clouds  ! 
Ye  signs  and  wonders  of  the  element ! 
Utter  forth  God,  and  fill  the  hills  with  praise  ! 

8.       Thou  too,  hoar  Mount !  with  thy  sky-pointing  peaks, 
Oft  from  whose  feet  the  avalanche,  unheard, 
Shoots  downward,  glittering  through  the  pure  serene 
Into  the  depth  of  clouds,  that  veil  thy  breast — 
Thou  too  again,  stupendous  Mountain  !  thou 
That  as  I  raise  my  head,  awhile  bowed  low 
In  adoration,  upward  from  thy  base 
Slow  traveling  with  dim  eyes  suffused  with  tears, 
Solemnly  seemest,  like  a  vapory  cloud, 
To  rise  before  me — Rise,  0  ever  rise, 
Rise  like  a  cloud  of  incense,  from  the  Earth  ! 
Thou  kingly  Spirit  throned  among  the  hills, 
Thou  dread  ambassador  from  Earth  to  Heaven, 
Great  hierarch  !  tell  thou  the  silent  sky, 
And  tell  the  stars,  and  tell  yon  rising  sun, 
Earth,  with  her  thousand  voices,  praises  God. 


MOUNTAINS  AND   GLACIERS,  17 


KILIMANDJARO.* 

1.  HAIL  to  thee,  monarch  of  African  mountains, 
Remote,  inaccessible,  silent  and  lone — 
Who,  from  the  heart  of  the  tropical  fervors, 
Liftest  to  heaven  thine  alien  snows, 
Feeding  for  ever  the  fountains  that  make  thee 
Father  of  Nile  and  Creator  of  Egypt. 

2.  The  years  of  the  world  are  engraved  on  thy  forehead, 
Time's  morning  blushed  red  on  thy  first  fallen  snows  ; 
Yet,  lost  in  the  wilderness,  nameless,  unnoted, 

Of  Man  unbeholden,  thou  wert  not  till  now. 
Knowledge  alone  is  the  being  of  Nature, 
Giving  a  soul  to  her  manifold  features, 
Lighting  through  paths  of  the  primitive  darkness 
The  footsteps  of  Truth  and  the  vision  of  Song. 
Knowledge  has  born  thee  anew  to  Creation, 
And  long-baffled  Time  at  the  baptism  rejoices. 
Take,  then,  a  name,  and  be  filled  with  existence, 
Yea,  be  exultant  in  sovereign  glory, 
While  from  the  pen  of  the  wandering  poet 
Drops  the  first  garland  of  song  at  thy  feet. 

1.  Floating  alone,  on  the  flood  of  thy  making, 
Through  Africa's  mystery,  silence,  and  fire, 
Lo  !  in  my  palm,  like  the  Eastern  enchanter, 
I  dip  from  the  waters  a  magical  mirror, 
And  thou  art  revealed  to  my  purified  vision. 
I  see  thee,  supreme  in  the  midst  of  thy  co-mates, 
Standing  alone  'twixt  the  Earth  and  the  Heavens, 
Heir  of  the  sunset  and  Herald  of  Morn. 

*  This  poem  was  written  soon  after  the  discovery  of  Kilimandjaro  by 
the  German  missionary,  Rebmann,  in  1848. 


18  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

Zone  above  zone,  to  thy  shoulders  of  granite, 
The  climates  of  Earth  are  displayed,  as  an  index, 
Giving  the  scope  of  the  Book  of  Creation. 
There,  in  the  gorges  that  widen,  descending 
From  cloud  and  from  cold  into  summer  eternal, 
Gather  the  threads  of  the  ice-gendered  fountains- 
Gather  to  riotous  torrents  of  crystal ; 
And,  giving  each  shelvy  recess  where  they  dally 
The  blooms  of  the  North  and  its  evergreen  turfage, 
Leap  to  the  land  of  the  lion  and  lotus  ! 
There,  in  the  wondering  airs  of  the  tropics, 
Shivers  the  Aspen,  still  dreaming  of  cold  ; 
There  stretches  the  Oak,  from  the  loftiest  ledges, 
His  arms  to  the  far-away  lands  of  his  brothers, 
And  the  Pine-tree  looks  down  on  his  rival,  the  Palm. 

4.  Bathed  in  the  tenderest  purple  of  distance, 
Tinted  and  shadowed  by  pencils  of  air, 
Thy  battlements  hang  o'er  the  slopes  and  the  forests, 
Seats  of  the  gods  in  the  limitless  ether, 
Looming  sublimely  aloft  and  afar. 
Above  them,  like  folds  of  imperial  ermine, 
Sparkle  the  snow-fields  that  furrow  thy  forehead, 
Desolate  realms,  inaccessible,  silent, 
Chasms  and  caverns  where  Day  is  a  stranger, 
Garners  where  storeth  his  treasures  the  Thunder, 
The  Lightning  his  falchion,  his  arrows  the  Hail ! 

5o  Sovereign  Mountain,  thy  brothers  give  welcome  ; 
They,  the  baptized  and  crowned  of  ages, 
Watch-towers  of  Continents,  altars  of  Earth, 
Welcome  thee  now  to  their  mighty  assembly. 
Mont  Blanc,  in  the  roar  of  his  mad  avalanches, 
Hails  thy  accession  ;  superb  Orizaba, 
Belted  with  beech  and  ensandaled  with  palm  ; 


MOUNTAINS  AND   GLACIERS.  19 

Chimborazo,  the  lord  of  the  regions  of  noonday, 
Mingle  their  songs  in  magnificent  chorus 
With  greeting  august  from  the  Pillars  of  Heaven, 
Who,  in  the  urns  of  the  Indian  Ganges, 
Filter  the  snows  of  their  sacred  dominions, 
Unmarked  with  a  foot-print,  unseen  but  of  God. 
6.  Lo  !  unto  each  is  the  seal  of  his  lordship, 

Nor  questioned  the  right  that  his  majesty  giveth, 

Each  in  his  awful  supremacy  forces 

Worship  and  reverence,  wonder  and  joy. 

Absolute  all,  yet  in  dignity  varied, 

None  has  a  claim  to  the -honors  of  story, 

Or  the  superior  splendors  of  song, 

Greater  than  thou,  in  thy  mystery  mantled, 

Thou,  the  sole  monarch  of  African  mountains, 

Father  of  Nile  and  Creator  of  Egypt. 

Bayard  Taylw 


PART  II. 
BASINS  AND  PLAINS. 


THE   GREAT   BASIN    OF  THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 

1.  THE  plains,  or  valleys,  of  Utah,  then,  have  generally 
a  soil  of  white  clay,  sometimes  rocky,  at  others  streaked  by 
sand  or  gravel,  but  usually  pure  clay,  save  as  it  is  impreg- 
nated with  some  alkaline  substance — usually  saleratus,  but 
in  places  niter,  in  others  salt  of  sulphur.     Sometimes,  but 
rarely,  considerable  areas  of  this  alkali  in  a  nearly  pure 
state  are  exposed  on  the  surface  ;  in  many  places  it  covers 
the  beds  of  shallow,  dried-up  lakes,  and  even  streams,  with 
a  whitish   incrustation ;    but   is   more   generally   diffused 
through  the  soil,   and  thus  impregnates  the  springs  and 
streams.      Irrigating  a  piece  of   ground  strongly  imbued 
with  alkali  will  often  bring  on  incrustation  of  it  to  the 
surface,  after  which  no  trouble  from  it  is  experienced  in 
that  place. 

2.  The  mountains  which  divide  these  plains  exude  very 
little  water.     Whenever  a  range  is  single — that  is,  with  a 
broad  valley  each  side  of  it — it  is  apt  to  be  not  more  than 
1,000  to  3,000  feet  high,  and  so  to  be  early  denuded  of 
snow ;  its  springs  -are  few  and  generally  feeble,  and  their 
waters  are  often  dried  up  before  trickling  half  way  down 
the  sides  of  the  mountain  which  gave  them  birth.     If  a 
spring  is  so  copious,  or  so  many  are  speedily  combined,  as 


BASINS  AND  PLAINS.  21 

to  form  a  considerable  stream,  they  may  reach  the  plain  ; 
but  only  to  be  speedily  drunk  up  by  its  scorched  surface. 
Cultivation,  therefore,  save  in  a  very  few  narrow  spots, 
seems  here  impossible.  But,  A\  herever  a  chaos  or  jumble  of 
mountains  is  presented — still  more  where  mountains  rise 
behind  mountains,  range  behind  range,  rank  above  rank, 
till  the  summits  of  the  farthest  that  may  be  seen  are  necked 
with  snow — there  the  case  is  altered.  Springs  are  there 
more  abundant  and  more  copious  ;  the  gradual  melting  of 
the  snows  swells  the  rivulets  formed  by  the  speedy  meeting 
of  their  waters  ;  and  thus  considerable  brooks  are  formed 
and  poured  down  upon  the  subjacent  plains,  as  we  observe 
in  and  around  Salt  Lake  City,  and  north  and  west  of  Lake 
Utah.  Thus  are  formed  Bear  and  Weber  Rivers  ;  such,  I 
believe,  is  the  origin  of  the  Humboldt. 

3.  But  such  instances  are  far  too  rare  in  Utah.  From 
the  Jordan  to  the  Humboldt  is  about  350  miles  by  the 
route  I  traveled,  and  in  all  that  distance  the  brooks  and  rills 
I  crossed  or  saw,  could  they  be  collected  into  one  channel, 
would  barely  form  a  decent  mill-stream.  I  thence  traveled 
down  the  south  side  of  the  Humboldt  for  225  miles,  and  in 
all  that  distance  not  more  than  two  tributaries  come  in  on 
that  side,  and  their  united  currents  would  barely  suffice  to 
turn  a  grindstone.  This  desolation  seems,  therefore,  irre- 
deemable. The  mountains  of  central  Utah  are  less  hopeless 
than  the  Plains.  Contrary  to  my  former  impression,  they 
are  fairly  wooded — by  which  I  mean  that  wood  is  procur- 
able on  them — at  almost  any  point.  This  wood  is  for  the 
most  part  cedar,  six  to  ten  feet  high,  and  from  a  foot  down- 
ward in  diameter  near  the  ground.  White  pines  of  like  size 
and  of  equally  scrubby  character  are  quite  common  in  the 
western  part  of  the  mountains  I  traversed,  and  there  is 
some  balsam-fir  in  the  deeper  canons,  which  attains  a  diam- 
eter of  fifteen  to  twenty  inches,  and  a  height  of  forty  to 
sixty  feet. 


22  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

4.  I  wish  to  record  my  opinion  that  the  Humboldt,  all 
things  considered,  is  the  meanest  river  of  its  length  on 
earth.    Rising  in  the  Humboldt  Mountains,  hardly  150  miles 
west  of  Salt  Lake,  it  is  at  first  a  pure  stream — or,  rather, 
streams,  for  their  are  two  main  branches — but  it  is  soon 
corrupted  by  its  alkaline  surroundings,  and  its  water,  for  at 
least  the  lower  half  of  its  course,  is  about  the  most  detest- 
able  I  ever  tasted.     I  mainly  chose  to  suffer  thirst  rather 
than  drink  it.    Though  350  miles  in  length,  it  is  never  more 
than  a  decent  mill-stream  ;  I  presume  it  is  the  only  river  of 
equal  length  that  never  had  even  a  canoe  launched  upon  its 
bosom.     Its  narrow  bottom,  or  intervale,  produces  grass ; 
but  so  coarse  in  structure,  and  so  alkaline  by  impregnation, 
that  no  sensible  man  would  let  his  stock  eat  it  if  there  were 
any  alternative.      Here,  however,  there  is  none.      Cattle 
must  eat  this,  or  die  ;  many  of  them  eat  it,  and  die. 

5.  I  believe  no  tree  of  any  size  grows  on  this  forlorn 
river  from  its  forks  to  its  mouth  ;  I  am  sure  I  saw  none 
while  traversing  the  lower  half  of  its  course.     Half  a  dozen 
specimens  of  a  large,  worthless  shrub,  known  as  buffalo- 
bush  or  bull-berry,  with  a  prevalent  fringe  of  willows  about 
the  proper  size  for  a  school-ma'am's  use,  comprise  the  entire 
timber  of  this  delectable  stream,  whose  gadflies,  mosquitoes, 
gnats,  etc. ,  are  so  countless  and  so  blood-thirsty  as  to  allow 
cattle,  so  unhappy  as  to  be  stationed  on  or  driven  along  this 
river,   no  chance  to  eat  or  sleep.     Many  have  died  this 
season  of  bad  water  that  would  have  survived  the  water 
but  for  these  execrable  insects,  by  which  the  atmosphere  at 
times  is  darkened.     It  certainly  is  not  a  pleasure  to  ride,, 
night  and  day,  along  such  a  stream,  with  the  heat  intense, 
the  dust  a  constant  cloud,  and  the  roads  all  gullied  and 
ground  into  chuck-holes  ;  but,  then,  who  would  stay  in 
such  a  region  one  moment  longer  than  he  must  ? 

6.  Here  Famine  sits  enthroned,  and  waves  his  scepter 
over  a  dominion  expressly  made  for  him.     On  the  Plains 


BASINS  AND  PLAINS.  23 

I  regarded  cotton-wood  with  contempt ;  here  a  belt,  even 
the  narrowest  fringe,  of  cotton-wood  would  make  a  com- 
parative Eden.  The  sage-bush  and  grease-wood,  which 
cover  the  high,  parched  plain  on  either  side  of  the  river's 
bottom,  seems  thinly  set,  with  broad  spaces  of  naked,  shin- 
ing, glaring,  blinding  day  between  them  ;  the  hills  beyond, 
which  bound  the  prospect,  seem  even  more  naked.  Not 
a  tree,  and  hardly  a  shrub,  anywhere  relieves  their  sterility  ; 
not  a  brook,  save  one  small  one,  runs  down  between  them 
to  swell  the  scanty  waters  of  the  river. 

7.  After  a  course,  at  first  west  by  south,  then  north  by 
west,  afterward  southwest,  and  for  the  last  fifty  miles  due 
south,  the  river  falls  into  Lake  Humboldt,  a  fine  sheet  of 
clear  water,  perhaps  fifteen  miles  in  length  and  forty  in 
circumference.     I  tried  to  obtain  an  approximation  to  its 
depth,  but  could  not,  those  who  have  staid  beside  it  long- 
est assuring  me  that  no  boat  had  ever  floated  upon  its 
waters — a  statement  which  the  destitution  of  wood  on  all 
this  region  renders  credible. 

8.  A  stream,  not  so  copious  as  the  river,  runs  from  the 
lake  on  the  south  and  flows  with  a  gentle,  sluggish  cur- 
rent into  a  large  tule  or  reed-marsh,  which  has  no  outlet, 
and  is  said  to  be  but  moderately  salt.     Here  the  Humboldt 
is  said  to  sink,  but  I  suspect  the  waters  are  all  drunk  up 
by  evaporation  and  by  the  thirsty  sands  which  surround 

them. 

Horace  Gredey. 


THE    GREAT    DISMAL    SWAMP. 

1.  THERE  are  many  swamps,  or  morasses,  in  this  low, 
flat  region,  and  one  of  the  largest  of  these  occurs  between 
the  towns  of  Norfolk  and  Weldon.  We  traversed  several 
miles  of  its  northern  extremity  on  the  railway,  which  is  sup- 


M  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

ported  on  piles.  It  bears  the  appropriate  and  very  express- 
ive name  of  the  "  Great  Dismal,"  and  is  no  less  than  forty 
miles  in  length  from  north  to  south,  and  twenty-five  miles 
in  its  greatest  width  from  east  to  west,  the  northern  half 
being  situated  in  Virginia,  the  southern  in  North  Carolina. 
I  observed  that  the  water  was  obviously  in  motion  in  sev- 
eral places,  and  the  morass  had  somewhat  the  appearance 
of  a  broad  inundated  river-plain,  covered  with  all  kinds  of 
aquatic  trees  and  shrubs,  the  soil  being  as  black  as  in  a 
peat-bog. 

2.  The  accumulation  of  vegetable  matter  going  on  here 
in  a  hot  climate,  over  so  vast  an  area,  is  a  subject  of  such 
high  geological  interest  that  I  shall  relate  what  I  learned 
of  this  singular  morass.     It  is  one  enormous  quagmire,  soft 
and  muddy,  except  where  the  surface  is  rendered  partially 
firm  by  a  covering  of  vegetables  and  their  matted  roots  ; 
yet,  strange  to  say,  instead  of  being  lower  than  the  level  of 
the  surrounding  country,  it  is  actually  higher  than  nearly 
all  the  firm  and  dry  land  which  encompasses  it ;  and,  to 
make  the  anomaly  complete,  in  spite  of  its  semi-fluid  char- 
acter, it  is  higher  in  the  interior  than  toward  its  margin. 

3.  The  juniper-trees,  or  white  cedar,  stand  firmly  in  the 
softest  part  of  the  quagmire,  supported  by  their  long  tap- 
roots, and  afford,  with  many  other  evergreens,  a  dark  shade, 
under  which  a  multitude  of  ferns,  reeds,  and  shrubs,  from 
nine  to  eighteen  feet  high,  and  a  thick  carpet  of  mosses, 
four  or  five  inches  high,  spring  up,  and  are  protected  from 
the  rays  of  the  sun.     When  these  are  most  powerful,  the 
large  cedar  and  many  other  deciduous   trees   are   in  full 
leaf.     The  black  soil  formed  beneath  this  shade,  to  which 
the  mosses  and  the  leaves  make  annual  additions,  does  not 
perfectly  resemble  the  peat  of  Europe,  most  of  the  plants 
being  "so  decayed  as  to  leave  little  more  than  soft,  black 
mud,  without  any  traces  of  organization. 

40  Numerous  trunks  of  large  and  tall  trees  lie  buried  in 


BASINS  AND  PLAINS.  25 

the  black  mire  of  the  morass.  In  so  loose  a  soil  they  are 
easily  overthrown  by  winds,  and  nearly  as  many  have  been 
found  lying  beneath  the  surface  of  the  peaty  soil  as  stand- 
ing erect  upon  it.  When  thrown  down,  they  are  soon  cov- 
ered by  water,  and  keeping  wet,  they  never  decompose,  ex- 
cept the  sap-wood,  which  is  less  than  an  inch  thick.  Much 
of  the  timber  is  obtained  by  sounding  a  foot  or  two  below  the 
surface,  and  it  is  sawn  into  planks  while  half  under  water. 

5.  The  Great  Dismal  has  been  described  as  being  high- 
est toward  its  center.     Here,  however,  there  is  an  extensive 
lake  of  an  oval  form,  seven  miles  long  and  more  than  five 
wide,  the  depth,  where  greatest,  fifteen  feet,  and  its  bot- 
tom consisting  of  mud  like  the  swamp,  but  sometimes  with 
a  pure  white  sand,  a  foot  deep,  covering  the  mud.     The 
water  is  transparent,  though  tinged  of  a  pale-brown  color, 
like  that  of  our  peat-mosses,  and  contains  abundance  of 
fish.     This  sheet  of  water  is  usually  even  with  its  banks, 
on  which  a  thick,  tall  forest  grows.     There  is  no  beach,  for 
the  bank  sinks  perpendicularly,  so  that  if  the  waters  are 
lowered  several  feet  it  makes  no  alteration  in  the  breadth 
of  the  lake. 

6.  The  bears  inhabiting    the   swamp    climb    trees    in 
search  of  acorns  and  gum-berries,  breaking  off  large  boughs 
of  the  oak  in  order  to  draw  the  acorns  near  to  them.    These 
same  bears  are  said  to  kill  hogs,  and  even  cows.     There  are 
also  wild-cats,  and  occasionally  a  solitary  wolf,  in  the  mo- 
rass. 

Sir  Charles  Lyell 


THE    LAKE    OF   THE    DISMAL   SWAMP. 

THEY  teli  me  of  a  young  man  who  lost  his  mind  upon 
the  death  of  a  girl  he  loved,  and  who,  suddenly  disap- 
pearing from  his  friends,  was  never  afterward  heard  of. 


26  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

As  he  had  frequently  said  in  his  ravings  that  the  girl  had 
gone  to  the  Dismal  Swamp,  it  is  supposed  he  had  wandered 
into  that  dreary  wilderness,  and  had  died  of  hunger,  or  been 
lost  in  some  dreadful  morass. 

1.  "  They  made  her  a  grave,  too  cold  and  damp 

For  a  soul  so  warm  and  true  ; 
And  she's  gone  to  the  Lake  of  the  Dismal  Swamp,; 
Where  all  night  long,  by  a  fire-fly  lamp, 

She  paddles  her  white  canoe. 

2.  "And  her  fire-fly  lamp  I  soon  shall  see, 

And  her  paddle  I  soon  shall  hear  ; 
Long  and  loving  our  life  shall  be, 
And  I'll  hide  the  maid  in  a  cypress-tree, 

When  the  footstep  of  Death  is  near  !" 

3.  Away  to  the  Dismal  Swamp  he  speeds — 

His  path  was  rugged  and  sore — 
Through  tangled  juniper,  beds  of  reeds, 
Through  many  a  fen,  where  the  serpent  feeds? 

And  man  never  trod  before  ! 

4.  And  when  on  the  earth  he  sunk  to  sleep, 

If  slumber  his  eyelids  knew, 
He  lay,  where  the  deadly  vine  doth  weep 
Its  venomous  tear,  and  nightly  steep 

The  flesh  with  blistering  dew  ! 

5.  And  near  him  the  she  wolf  stirred  the  brake., 

And  the  copper  snake  breathed  in  his  ear, 
ITill  he  starting  cried,  from  his  dream  awake, 
"  Oh  !  when  shall  I  see  the  dusky  lake, 

And  the  white  canoe  of  my  dear  ? " 


BASINS  AND  PLAINS.  27 

6.  He  saw  the  lake,  and  a  meteor  bright 

Quick  over  its  surface  played ; 
"Welcome,"  he  said,  "my  dear  one's  light  !" 
And  the  dim  shore.,  echoed,  for  many  a  night, 

The  name  of  the  death-cold  maid  ! 

7.  Till  he  hollowed  a  boat  of  the  birchen  bark, 

Which  carried  him  off  from  shore  ; 
Far  he  followed  the  meteor  spark ; 
The  wind  was  high  and  the  clouds  were  darK, 

And  the  boat  returned  no  more. 

8.  But  oft  from  the  Indian  hunter's  camp 

This  lover  and  maid  so  true 
Are  seen,  at  the  hour  of  midnight  damp, 
To  cross  the  lake  by  a  fire-fly  lamp, 

And  paddle  their  white  canoe  ! 

Thomas  Moore 


PART  III. 
EARTHQUAKES  AND  VOLCANOES. 


DESTRUCTION    OF    HERCULANEUM. 

1.  A  GEEAT  city,  situated  amid  all  that  nature  could 
create  of  beauty  and  of  profusion,  or  art  collect  of  science 
and  magnificence,  the  growth  of  many  ages,  the  residence  of 
enlightened  multitudes,  the  scene  of  splendor  and  festivity 
and  nappiness,  in  one  moment  withered  as  by  a  spell,  its  pal- 
aces, its  streets,  its  temples,  its  gardens,  "  glowing  with  eter- 
nal spring,"  and  its  inhabitants  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  all 
life's  blessings,  obliterated  from  their  very  place  in  creation, 
not  by  war,  or  famine,  or  disease,  or  any  of  the  natural 
causes  of  destruction  to  which  earth  had  been  accustomed, 
but  in  a  single  night,  as  if  by  magic,  and  amid  the  confla- 
gration, as  it  were,  of  nature  itself,  presented  a  subject  on 
which  the  wildest  imagination  might  grow  weary  without 
even  equaling  the  grand  and  terrible  reality. 

2.  The  eruption  of  Vesuvius,  by  which  Herculaneum  and 
Pompeii  were  overwhelmed,  has  been  chiefly  described  to  us 
in  the  letters  of  Pliny  the  Younger  to  Tacitus,  giving  an  ac- 
count of  his  uncle's  fate,  and  the  situation  of  the  writer  and 
his  mother.     The  elder  Pliny  had  just  returned  from  the 
bath,  and  was  retired  to  his  study,  when  a  small  speck  or 
cloud,  which  seemed  to  ascend  Mount  Vesuvius,  attracted 
his  attention.     This  cloud  gradually  increased,    and    at 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES,  29 

length  assumed  the  shape  of  a  pine-tree,  the  trunk  of  earth 
and  vapor,  and  the  leaves  "  red  cinders."  Pliny  ordered 
his  galley,  arid,  urged  by  his  philosophic  spirit,  went  for- 
ward to  inspect  the  phenomenon.  In  a  short  time,  how- 
ever, philosophy  gave  way  to  humanity,  and  he  zealously 
and  adventurously  employed  his  galley  in  saving  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  various  beautiful  villas  which  studded  that  en- 
chanting coast. 

3.  Among  others,  he  went  to  the  assistance  of  his  friend 
Pomponianus,  who  was  then  at  Stabiae.     The  storm  of  fire 
and  the  tempest  of  earth  increased,  and  the  wretched  in- 
habitants were  obliged,  by  the  continual  rocking  of  their 
houses,  to  rush  out  into  the  fields  with  pillows  tied  down  by 
napkins  upon  their  heads,  as  their  sole  defense  against  the 
shower  of  stones  which  fell  on  them.     This,  in  the  course 
of  nature,  was  in  the  middle  of  the  day  ;  but  a  deeper  dark- 
ness than  that  of  a  winter  night  had  closed  around  the  ill- 
fated  inmates  of  Herculaneum. 

4.  This  artificial  darkness  continued  for  three  days  and 
nights,  and  when,  at  length,  the  sun  again  appeared  over 
the  spot  where  Herculaneum  stood,  his  rays  fell  upon  an 
ocean  of  lava  !     There  was  neither  tree,   nor  shrub,   nor 
field,  nor  house,  nor  living  creature,  nor  visible  remnant  of 
what  human  hands  had  reared  ;  there  was  nothing  to  be 
seen  but  one  black  extended  surface  still  streaming  with  me- 
phitic  vapor,  and  heaved  into  calcined  waves  by  the  opera- 
tion of  fire  and  the  undulations  of  the  earthquake  !    Pliny 
was  found  dead  upon  the  sea-shore,  stretched  upon  a  cloth 
which  had  been  spread  for  him,  where  it  was  conjectured  he 
had  perished  early,  his  corpulent  and  apoplectic  habit  ren- 
dering him  an  easy  prey  to  the  suffocating  atmosphere. 

Harper's  Magazine. 


UBRAflJ* 

Oir   TMH. 


30  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


POMPEII. 

1.  Otf  the  24th  of  August,  in  the  year  79  of  our  own 
era,  and  not  long  after  midday,  Vesuvius  broke  the  repose 
of  untold  ages,  and  resumed,  with  tragical  energy,  his  an- 
cient reign  of  fire,  awakening  the  slumbering  echoes  of  his 
power  with  terrible  detonations  and  fearful  earthquakes. 
A  darkness  that  might  be  felt  shrouded  in  the  profoundest 
gloom  the  midday  sun,  and  ashes  fell  like  snow  upon  the 
mountain,  the  plain,  the  bays  of  Naples  and  Baise,  and  far 
into  the  surrounding  country. 

2.  Rain   from  the  condensed   stream  of   the  eruption 
deluged  the  whole  district  ;  torrents  of  fluid  mud,  formed 
by  the  ashes  and  water,  swept  over  every  obstruction,  and 
filled  to  overflowing  every  depression  of  the  surface.     The 
terrified  inhabitants,   overwhelmed  by  superstitious  fears, 
joined  the  droves  of  domestic  animals,  whose  keener  in- 
stincts had  already  impelled  them  to  desert  a  district  filled 
with  sulphurous  vapors,  and  vibrating  with  ominous  and 
unwonted   sounds,   wandering   they  knew   not   where,    in 
search  of  some  place  where  the  frightful  evidences  of  the 
wrath  of  the  gods  might  be  avoided. 

3.  Pompeii  was  first  discovered  in  1748.     It  lies  about 
twelve  miles  southeast  from  Naples.     The  town  was  ex- 
tremely compact,   and  appears  to    have    been  only  three 
fourths  of  a  mile  long  by  half  a  mile  wide.     The  houses 
were  joined  together.     Twenty  streets,  which  are  only  fif- 
teen feet  wide,  had  been  uncovered   twenty  years  since. 
The  walls  are  still  in  good  condition  ;  they  were  three  miles 
in  circuit,  from  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  high,  and  twenty 
feet  thick.     Seven  gates  have  been  discovered — the  gate  of 
Herculaneum,  of  Vesuvius,  of  Capua,  of  Nola,  of  Sarno, 
of  Stabiae,  and  of  the  theatres.     The  sites  of  nine  towers 
have  been  ascertainedo 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES.  31 

4.  At  the  time  of  our  visit,  only  about  one  third  of  the 
city  had  been,  excavated,  the  remaining  two  thirds  being 
covered  by  an  extended  volcanic  mound,  over  which  the 
traveler  might  have  driven,  as  thousands  have  heedlessly 
done  in  centuries  past,  unconscious  that  a  city  of  the  dead 
slumbered  beneath  the  hoofs  of  the  horses.     We  were  first 
driven  to  the  house  of  Diomede,  a  country  house  just  out- 
side the  walls  of  the  city.     It  is  an  elegant  Boman  villa, 
and  still  stands  nearly  perfect,  eighteen  hundred  years  after 
the  great  catastrophe.     Its  columns  are  erect,  its  walls  en- 
tire, and  its  open  doors  seem  to  invite  the  strangers  to  en- 
ter ;  but  the  family  are  not  there,  and  silence  reigns  in  the 
halls  of  Diomede  ! 

5.  At  the  time  of  the  catastrophe  the  family  of  Dio- 
mede sought  refuge   from  the  falling  pumice  under  the 
strong  arch  of  the  wine-cellar,  strong  enough  to  resist  and 
sustain  the  load  of  falling  materials,  but  not  proof  against 
the  deluge  of  volcanic  mud,  whose  unexpected  inundation 
brought  death  to  the  mistress,   her  children,  and  fifteen 
female  slaves.     The  record  of  the  manner  of  their  death  is 
even  now  perfectly  legible.      The  form  of    the   mistress, 
with  her  back  and  head  to  the  wall,   with  outstretched 
arms,  is  clearly  delineated  by  the  difference  of  color.     Sur- 
rounding her  are  the  impressions  of  the  persons  of  seven- 
teen others,  various  in  stature,  but  all  standing,  save  one 
infant  in  arms. 

6.  When  these  silent  vaults  were  excavated,  here  stood 
the  skeletons  of  these  unfortunate  people,  the  rich  jewels 
of  the  mistress  and  of  her  daughter  circling  the  bony  fin- 
gers and  wrists  and  neck.     These  we  afterward  saw  in  the 
museum  at  Naples,  the  left  humerus  of  the  mother,  as  also 
the  skull  of  the  daughter,  whose  name,  Julia,  was  engraved 
upon  her  bracelet.     Equally  strange  and  wonderful  was  it 
to  see  the  cast  of  the  bosom  of  this  Boman  matron,  taken 
with  life-like  precision,  in  the  soft  and  fluid  tufa.      Her 


32  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

hand  still  grasped  the  purse,  whose  contents  are  also  among 
the  wonderful  treasures  of  the  same  museum. 

7.  Beyond   the   garden  and   the   fish-pond,   which  are 
contiguous  to  the  wine-cellar,  there  is  a  gateway  where 
were  found  two  skeletons,  with  valuable  vessels  and  money  ; 
one  hand  held  a  rusted  key,  and  the  other  a  bag  with  coin 
and  cameos,  and  vessels  of   silver  and  bronze  were  near. 
These  are  believed  to  have  been  the  remains  of  the  master 
Diomede  and  his  servant.      A  wrapper  contained  eighty 
pieces  of  silver  money,  ten  of  gold,  and  some  bronze.     It 
appears  highly  probable  that,  having  left  the  family  in  a 
place  which  was  believed  to  be  safe,  they  were  engaged  in 
transporting  valuables  to  a  place  of   deposit,  when  they 
were  overtaken  by  the  same  deluge  which  destroyed  their 
friends. 

8.  The  celebrated  Appian  Way  passed  by  the  house  of 
Diomede,  and  through   Pompeii  to  Stabiae.     The  road  is 
now  above  ground,   and  is  evidently  as  perfect  as  when 
Pompeii  was  buried.     It  is  paved  with  large  blocks  of  the 
ancient  lava  of   Monte  Somma,  which,  of   course,  proves 
the  occurrence  of  earlier  eruptions  of  the  volcano,  although 
at  an  unknown  era.     Deep  ruts  are  worn  by  the  wheels  in 
the  solid  lava,  which  is  as  firm  as  trap,  while  the  stones  are 
strongly  marked  by  the  rust  of  the  iron  worn  off  from  the 
wheel-tires.     The  furrows  prove  that  the  wheels  were  not 
more  than  four  feet  apart.     This  is  proved  also  by  the  po- 
sition of  the  stepping-stones  for  crossing  the  streets,  which 
were  so  placed  that  the  wheels  passed  between  them. 

9.  The  stepping-stones  were  very  large,  and  two  and  a 
half   or  three  feet  long,  their  longest  diameter  coinciding 
with  the  direction  of  the  street ;  and  they  were  laid  so 
near  to  each  other  that  the  passengers  could  pass  quite 
across  the  street  from  one  sidewalk  to  the  opposite  without 
stepping  down.      There   were  sidewalks   in  the  principal 
streets  about  three  feet  wide,  and  two  feet  above  the  pave- 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES,  33 

ment.  The  streets  were  paved  with  the  same  hard  lava 
rock,  and  in  many  places  it  was  worn  into  deep  hollows  by 
human  feet,  thus  proving  the  high  antiquity  of  the  city. 
The  street  near  the  barracks  is  only  thirteen  feet  wide. 
We  passed  through  one  street  in  which  the  pavement  was 
in  very  bad  order  ;  the  ruts  were  worn  irregularly  and  very 
deep,  the  stones  were  tilted  out  of  the  proper  level,  and 
there,  as  sometimes  happens  in  modern  cities,  the  street 
commissioners  had  evidently  not  done  their  duty. 

10.  At  the  door  of  the  mansion  of  the  ^Edile  Glaucus, 
which  was  one  of  the  largest  and  best  in  the  city,  there  was 
in  the  vestibule,  and  before  entering  the  house,  a  very  start- 
ling Mosaic  figure  of  a  large  and  powerful  dog,  secured  by 
a  chain  around  his  neck,  but  crouching  and  fierce,  as  if 
about  to  spring  upon  the  visitor  ;  and  immediately  before 
this  vigilant  sentinel  you  read  in  large  Roman  letters,  cave 
canem — beware  of  the  dog  !     The  inscription  is  preserved 
in  the  original  place  where  we  saw  it,  but  the  dog  has  been 
removed  to  the  museum  at  Naples.      It  is  still  a  perfect 
figure  of  a  Roman  dog. 

11.  Around  the  fountain  in  one  of  the  houses  there  were 
numerous  grotesque  jets  formed  of  marble,  in  the  shape  of 
miniature  bulls,  ducks,  and  dolphins,  and  associated  with 
them  was  a  Bacchus.     A  leaden  tube,  which  formerly  con- 
veyed water  for  the  fountain,  remains  in  place  as  it  passed 
through  the  wall.     We  observed,  as  illustrating  the  condi- 
tion of  the  art  of  working  this  metal  among  the  Romans, 
that  the  pipe  was  not  drawn  nor  cast,  but  was  made  by 
folding  up  a  sheet  into  the  tubular  form,  and  closing  the 
joint  by  a  lap  without  solder.     In  this  house  was  a  large 
vaulted  music-room,  the  walls  of  which  are  nearly  perfect. 
The  object  for  which  the  room  was  constructed  was  suffi- 
ciently indicated  by  figures  of  musical  instruments,  and  of 
persons  playing  upon  them. 

12.  Columns  were  in  general  use  in  the  better  houses, 


34:  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

around  the  included  area,  in  the  gardens,  and  in  other  places. 
In  the  best  dwellings  they  are  of  polished  marble,  in  many 
they  are  stuccoed.  Some  of  the  Roman  houses,  in  their  most 
perfect  and  uninjured  condition,  must  have  been  very  beau- 
tiful, although  their  accommodations  were  much  more  lim- 
ited than  those  of  modern  times.  The  rooms — the  dormi- 
tories especially — were  much  smaller  ;  the  houses  were  low, 
and  rarely  rose  above  two  stories.  They  were  so  constructed 
as  to  admit  of  the  most  perfect  domestic  seclusion  ;  no  eye 
could  scrutinize  the  family  privacy  from  the  street,  or  from 
another  house. 

13.  The  Forum  was  large  and  handsome,  and  surrounded 
with  double  rows  of  columns  for  a  covered  colonnade.     In 
connection  with  it  was  a  temple  of  Jupiter,  and  another, 
opposite  to  it,  of  Venus,  both  decorated  with  massive  mono- 
lithic columns.      Half-dressed  blocks  of  marble  and  por- 
tions of  columns  lie  on  the  ground  in  the  Forum,  where 
they  were  in  process  of  preparation,  to  repair  the  injuries 
done  to  the  building  by  the  shocks  of  an  earthquake  before 
the  destructive  eruption.    Numerous  dislocated  and  propped 
walls  in  the  city  bear  testimony  to  the  same  event,  which 
occurred  in  the  year  63. 

14.  Connected  with  the  Forum  was  the  Basilica,  or  hall 
of  justice,  a  structure  adorned  with  columns,  and  provided 
with  an  elevated  tribune  for  the  judges.     Vaulted  apart- 
ments beneath  were  used  as  a  prison,  communicating  by  a 
circular  opening  in  the  crown  of  the  arch  with  the  hall 
above.     In  this  prison,  which  we  entered,  were  found  three 
skeletons  of  prisoners,  ironed  to  the  floor,  doubtless  wait- 
ing their  examination  at  the  time  of  the  catastrophe  which 
so  unexpectedly  changed  the  venue  of  their  trial  to  another 
bar! 

15.  The  Amphitheater  was  in  a  remote  part  of  the  city, 
near  the  eastern  wall.     It  has  undergone  so  little  dilapida- 
tion that  it  appears  almost  perfect.     We  approached  it  by 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES.  35 

ascending  the  ground  until  we  were  quite  at  the  top,  and 
we  then  descended  by  the  stone  seats,  quite  to  the  arena, 
which,  by  pacing,  we  found  to  be  240  feet  by  120.  From 
the  arena  we  looked  up  over  the  entire  circuit  and  elevation 
of  the  seats,  which  are  almost  perfectly  preserved — thanks 
to  the  sepulture  of  1,700  years.  Had  this  amphitheatre 
been  in  the  midst  of  Naples,  as  the  Coliseum  was  at  Rome, 
it  would,  no  doubt,  have  fared  as  ill  at  the  hands  of  the 
architects.  It  was  easy  for  us  now  to  people  it  in  imagina- 
tion with  the  thousands  of  Romans  who  have  so  often  gazed 
and  applauded  from  these  seats  while  blood,  both  brute 
and  human,  was  flowing  in  the  arena  where  we  were  stand- 
ing. Such  may  have  been  the  scenes  when  the  tempest  of 
fire  broke  forth,  for  the  people  of  Pompeii  are  said  to  have 
been  then  engaged  in  the  amphitheater. 

16.  There  are  two  buildings  for  public  baths  which,  are 
well  preserved  ;  the  bronze  seats  and  braziers  still  remain  in 
them.  For  men  there  was  a  common  bath,  circular,  and 
large  enough  for  entire  immersion  ;  it  is  of  marble,  and  is 
now  in  good  condition.  The  dome,  or  ceiling,  has  in  part 
fallen  in,  but  the  portion  over  the  bath  is  preserved.  We 
measured  the  room,  and  found  it  to  be  60  feet  by  20. 
There  was  another  bath  for  women,  contiguous  to  this,  but 
at  a  proper  distance.  This  marble  bath  is  quite  perfect, 
and  the  room,  being  entirely  arched,  has  been  preserved  un- 
injured. It  is  most  interesting.  There  is  a  living  fountain 
at  one  end,  and  there  was  an  arrangement,  whose  object  is 
even  now  quite  apparent,  for  warming  the  room  by  hot  air 
or  steam. 

£.  Silliman. 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


ERUPTION    OF    MOUNT   ETNA. 

1.  THE  festival  in  honor  of  St.  Agatha  had  continued 
three  days,  and  the  noises  of  the  revelry  had  not  ceased  at 
midnight  on  Friday.  I  slept  soundly  through  the  night, 
but  was  awakened  before  sunrise  by  my  Sicilian  landlord. 
"0  Excellenza  !  have  you  heard  the  mountain?  He  is 
going  to  break  out  again  ;  may  the  holy  Santa  Agatha  pro- 
tect us!"  Next  came  along  the  jabbering  landlady:  "I 


Eruption  of  Mount  Etna. 

don't  like  his  looks.  It  was  just  so  the  last  time.  Come, 
Excellenza,  you  can  see  him  from  the  back  terrace."  The 
sun  was  not  yet  risen,  but  the  east  was  bright  with  his 
coming,  and  there  was  not  a  cloud  in  the  .sky.  All  the 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES.  37 

features  of  Etna  were  sharply  sculptured  in  the  clear  air. 
From  the  topmost  cone  a  thick  stream  of  white  smoke 
was  slowly  putted  out  at  short  intervals,  and  rolled  lazily 
down  the  eastern  side.  It  had  a  heavy,  languid  character, 
and  I  should  have  thought  nothing  of  the  appearance  but 
for  the  alarm  of  my  hosts.  It  was  like  the  slow  fire  of 
Earth's  incense  burning  on  the  grand  mountain  altar. 

2.  At  last  we  rolled  out  of  Catania.     There  were  in  the 
diligence,  besides  myself,  two  men  and  a  woman,  Sicilians 
of  the  secondary  class.     The  road  followed  the  shore,  over 
rugged  tracts  of  lava,  the  different  epochs  of  which  could 
be   distinctly  traced  in   the  character  of   the   vegetation. 
The  last  great  flow  (of  1697)  stood  piled  in  long  ridges  of 
terrible  sterility,  barely  allowing  the   aloe   and   cactus  to 
take  root  in  the  hollows  between.     The  older  deposits  were 
sufficiently  decomposed  to  nourish  the  olive  and  vine  ;  but 
even  here  the  orchards  were  studded  with  pyramids  of  the 
harder  fragments,  which  are  laboriously  collected  by  the 
husbandmen.     In  the  few  favored  spots  which  have  been 
untouched  for  so  many  ages  that  a  tolerable  depth  of  soil 
has  accumulated,  the  vegetation  has  all  the  richness  and 
brilliancy  of  tropical  lands.     The  palm,  orange,  and  pome- 
granate thrive  luxuriantly,   and   the    vines   almost   break 
under  their  heavy  clusters. 

3.  The  villages  are  frequent  and  well  built,  and  the  hills 
are  studded,  far  and  near,  with  the  villas  of  rich  proprietors, 
mostly  buildings  of   one  story,   with  verandas  extending 
their  whole  length.     Looking  up  toward  Etna,  whose  base 
the  road  encircles,  the  views  are  gloriously  rich  and  beauti- 
ful.    On  the  other  hand  is  the  blue  Mediterranean  and  the 
irregular  outline  of  the  shore,  here  and  there  sending  forth 
promontories  of  lava,  cooled  by  the  waves  into  most  fantas- 
tic forms. 

4.  We  had  not  proceeded  far  before  a  new  sign  called 
my  attention  to  the  mountain.     Not  only  was  there  a  per- 


38  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

ceptible  jar  or  vibration  in  the  earth,  but  a  dull,  groaning 
sound,  like  the  muttering  of  distant  thunder,  began  to  be 
heard.  The  smoke  increased  in  volume,  and,  as  we  ad- 
vanced farther  to  the  eastward,  and  much  nearer  to  the 
great  cone,  I  perceived  that  it  consisted  of  two  jets,  issuing 
from  different  mouths.  A  broad  stream  of  very  dense 
white  smoke  still  flowed  over  the  lip  of  the  topmost  crater 
and  down  the  eastern  side.  As  its  breadth  did  not  vary, 
and  the  edges  were  distinctly  defined,  it  was  no  doubt  the 
sulphureous  vapor  rising  from  a  river  of  molten  lava. 
Perhaps  a  thousand  yards  below,  a  much  stronger  column 
of  mingled  black  and  white  smoke  gushed  up,  in  regular 
beats  or  pants,  from  a  depression  in  the  mountain-side,  be- 
tween two  small,  extinct  cones.  All  this  part  of  Etna  was 
scarred  with  deep  chasms,  and  in  the  bottoms  of  those 
nearest  the  opening  I  could  see  the  red  gleam  of  fire.  The  air 
was  perfectly  still,  and  as  yet  there  was  no  cloud  in  the  sky. 
5.  When  we  stopped  to  change  horses  at  the  town  of  Aci 
Reale,  I  first  felt  the  violence  of  the  tremor  and  the  awful 
sternness  of  the  sound.  The  smoke  by  this  time  seemed  to 
be  gathering  on  the  side  toward  Catania,  and  hung  in  a 
dark  mass  about  half  way  down  the  mountain.  Groups 
of  the  villagers  were  gathered  in  the  streets  which  looked 
upward  to  Etna,  and  discussing  the  chances  of  an  erup- 
tion. "Ah,"  said  an  old  peasant,  "the  Mountain  knows 
how  to  make  himself  respected.  When  lie  talks,  everybody 
listens."  The  sound  was  the  most  awful  that  ever  met  my 
ears.  It  was  a  hard,  painful  moan,  now  and  then  fluttering 
like  a  suppressed  sob,  and  had,  at  the  same  time,  an  ex- 
pression of  threatening  and  of  agony.  It  did  not  come 
from  Etna  alone.  It  had  no  fixed  location  ;  it  pervaded  all 
space.  It  was  in  the  air,  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  in  the 
earth  under  my  feet — everywhere,  in  fact ;  and,  as  it  con- 
tinued to  increase  in  violence,  I  experienced  a  sensation 
of  positive  pain. 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES.  39 

6.  There  was  a  strong  smell  of  sulphur  in  the  air,  and 
the  thick  white  pants  of  smoke  from  the  lower  crater  con- 
tinued to  increase  in  strength.     The  sun  was  fierce  and  hot, 
and  the  edges  of  the  sulphureous  clouds  shone  with  a  daz- 
zling whiteness.     A  mounted  soldier  overtook  us,  and  rode 
beside  the  diligence,  talking  with  the  postilion.     He  had 
been  up  to  the  mountain,  and  was  taking  his  report  to  the 
governor  of  the  district.     The  heat  of  the  day  and  the  con- 
tinued tremor  of  the  air  lulled  me  into  a  doze,  when  I  was 
suddenly  aroused  by  a  cry  from  the  soldier,  and  a  sudden 
stopping  of  the  diligence.     At  the  same  time  there  was  a 
terrific  peal  of  sound,  followed  by  a  jar  which  must  have 
shaken  the  whole  island.     We  looked  up  to  Etna,  which 
was,  fortunately,  in  full  view  before  us.    An  immense  mass 
of  snow-white  smoke  had  burst  up  from  the  crater,  and 
was  rising  perpendicularly  into  the  air,  its  rounded  volumes 
rapidly  whirling  one  over  the  other,  yet  urged  with  such 
impetus  that  they  only  rolled  outward  after  they  had  as- 
cended to  an  immense  height. 

7.  It  might  have  been  one  minute  or  five — for  I  was 
so  entranced  by  this  wonderful  spectacle   that  I  lost  the 
sense  of  time — but  it  seemed  instantaneous  (so  rapid  and 
violent  were  the  effects  of  the  explosion),  when  there  stood 
in  the  air,  based  on  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  a  mass 
of  smoke  four  or  five  miles  high,  and  shaped  precisely  like 
the  Italian  pine-tree.     Words  can  not  paint  the  grandeur  of 
this  mighty  tree.     Its  trunk  of  columned  smoke,  one  side 
of  which  was  silvered  by  the  sun,  while  the  other  in  shadow 
was  livid  with  red  flame,  rose  for  more  than  a  mile  before 
it  sent  out  its  cloudy  boughs.     Then,  parting  into  a  thou- 
sand streams,  each  of  which  again  threw  out  its  branching 
tufts  of  smoke,  rolling  and  waving  in  the  air,  it  stood  in 
intense  relief  against  the  dark  blue  of  the  sky.     Its  rounded 
masses  of  foliage  were  dazzlingly  white  on  one  side,  while, 
in  the  shadowy  depths  of  the  branches,  there  was  a  con- 


40  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER, 

stant  play  of  brown,  yellow,  and  crimson  tints,  revealing  the 
central  shaft  of  fire.  It  was  like  the  tree  celebrated  in  the 
Scandinavian  sagas,  as  seen  by  the  mother  of  Harold  Har- 
drada— that  tree,  whose  roots  pierced  through  the  earth, 
whose  trunk  was  the  color  of  blood,  and  whose  branches 
filled  the  uttermost  corners  of  the  heavens. 

8.  This  outburst  seemed  to  have  relieved  the  mountain, 
for  the  tremors  were  now  less  violent,  though  the  terrible 
noise  still  droned  in  the  air  and  earth  and  sea.     And  now, 
from  the  base  of  the  tree,  three  white  streams  slowly  crept 
into  as  many  separate  chasms,  against  the  walls  of  which 
played  the  nickering  glow  of  the  burning  lava.     The  col- 
umns of  smoke  and  flame  were  still  hurled  upward,  and  the 
tree,  after  standing  about  ten  minutes — a  new  and  awful 
revelation  of  the  active  forces  of  nature — gradually  rose  and 
spread,  lost  its  form,  and,  slowly  moved  by  a  light  wind 
(the  first  that  disturbed  the  dead  calm  of  the  day),  bent 
over  to  the  eastward.     We  resumed  our  course.     The  vast 
belt  of  smoke  at  last  arched  over  the  strait,  here  about 
twenty  miles  wide,  and  sank  toward  the  distant  Calabrian 
shore.     As  we  drove  under  it,  for  some  miles  of  our  way, 
the  sun  was  totally  obscured,  and  the  sky  presented  the 
singular  spectacle  of  two  hemispheres  of  clear  blue,  with  a 
broad  belt  of  darkness  drawn  between  them.     There  was  a 
hot,  sulphurous  vapor  in  the  air,  and  showers  of  white 
ashes  fell  from  time  to  time.     We  were  distant  about  twelve 
miles  in  a  straight  line  from  the  crater  ;  but  the  air  was  so 
clear,  even  under  the  shadow  of  the  smoke,  that  I  could 
distinctly  trace  the  downward  movement  of  the  rivers  of 
lava. 

9.  This  was  the  eruption,  at  last,  to  which  all  the  phe- 
nomena of  the  morning  had  been  only  preparatory.     For 
the  first  time  in  ten  years  the  depths  of  Etna  had  been 
stirred,  and  I  thanked  God  for  my  detention  at  Malta,  and 
the  singular  hazard  of  travel  which  had  brought  me  here, 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES.  41 

to  his  very  base,  to  witness  a  scene,  the  impression  of  which 
I  shall  never  lose  to  my  dying  day.  Although  the  eruption 
may  continue,  and  the  mountain  pour  forth  fiercer  fires  and 
broader  tides  of  lava,  I  can  not  but  think  that  the  first  up- 
heaval, which  let  out  the  long-imprisoned  forces,  will  not 
be  equaled  in  grandeur  by  any  later  spectacle. 

10.  After  passing  Taormina,  our  road  led  us  under  the 
hills  of  the  coast,  and  although  I  occasionally  caught 
glimpses  of  Etna,  and  saw  the  reflection  of  fires  from  the 
lava  which  was  filling  up  his  savage  ravines,  the  smoke  at 
last  encircled  his  waist,  and  he  was  shut  out  of  sight  by 
the  intervening  mountains.  We  lost  a  Ipolt  in  the  deep 
valley  opening  on  the  sea,  and  during  our  stoppage  I  could 
still  hear  the  groans  of  the  mountain,  though  farther  off, 
and  less  painful  to  the  ear.  As  evening  came  on,  the 
beautiful  hills  of  Calabria,  with  white  towns  and  villages 
on  their  sides,  gleamed  in  the  purple  light  of  the  setting 
sun.  We  drove  around  headland  after  headland,  till  the 
strait  opened,  and  we  looked  over  the  harbor  of  Messina  to 
Cape  Faro,  and  the  distant  islands  of  the  Tyrrhene  Sea. 

Bayard  Taylor. 


EARTHQUAKES    IN    CALABRIA    IN    THE   YEAR    1638. 

1.  AN  account  of  this  dreadful  earthquake  is  given  by 
the  celebrated  Father  Kircher.     It  happened  while  he  was 
on  his  journey  to  visit  Mount  Etna  and  the  rest  of  the 
wonders  that  lie  toward  the  south  of  Italy.     Kircher  is 
considered  by  scholars  as  one  of  the  greatest  prodigies  of 
learning. 

2.  Having  hired  a  boat,  in  company  with  four  more,  we 
launched  from  the  harbor  of  Messina,  in  Sicily,  and  arrived 
the  same  day  at  the  promontory  of  Pelorus,     Our  destjna- 


4:2  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

tion  was  for  the  city  of  Euphemia,  in  Calabria,  where  we 
had  some  business  to  transact,  and  where  we  designed  to 
tarry  for  some  time.  However,  Providence  seemed  willing 
to  cross  our  design,  for  we  were  obliged  to  continue  three 
days  at  Pelorus,  on  account  of  the  weather ;  and  though 
we  often  put  out  to  sea,  yet  we  were  as  often  driven  back. 
At  length,  wearied  with  the  delay,  we  resolved  to  prose- 
cute our  voyage  ;  and,  although  the  sea  seemed  more  than 
usually  agitated,  we  ventured  forward. 

3.  The  Gulf  of  Charybdis,  which  we  approached,  seemed 
whirled  round  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  a  vast  hollow, 
verging  to  a  point  in  the  center.     Proceeding  onward,  and 
turning  my  eyes  to  Etna,  I  saw  it  cast  forth  large  volumes 
of  smoke,  of  mountainous  sizes,  which  entirely  covered  the 
island  and  blotted   out   the   very   shores   from   my  view. 
This,   together   with    the   dreadful   noise   and  sulphurous 
stench  which  was  strongly  perceived,  filled  me  with  appre- 
hensions that  some  more  dreadful  calamity  was  impending. 
The  sea  itself  seemed  to  wear  an  unusual  appearance  ;  they 
who  have  seen  a  lake  in  a  violent  shower  of  rain,  covered 
all  over  with  bubbles,  will  conceive  some  idea  of  its  agita- 
tions.    My  surprise  was  still  increased  by  the  calmness  and 
serenity  of  the  weather  ;  not  a  breeze  nor  a  cloud,  which 
might  be  supposed  to  put  all  nature  thus  into  motion.     I 
therefore  warned  my  companions  that  an  earthquake  was 
approaching  ;  and,  after  some  time,  making  for  the  shore 
with  all  possible  diligence,  we  landed  at  Tropea,  happy  and 
thankful  for  having  escaped  the  threatening  dangers  of  the 
sea. 

4.  But  our  triumphs  at  land  were  of  short  duration  ; 
for  we  had  scarcely  arrived  at  the  Jesuits'  College  in  that 
city  when  our  ears  were  stunned  with  a  horrid  sound  re- 
sembling that  of  an  infinite  number  of   chariots   driven 
furiously  forward,   the  wheels  rattling  and    the    thongs 
cracking.     Soon  after  this  a  most  dreadful  earthquake  en- 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES.  4b 

sued,  so  that  the  whole  tract  upon  which  we  stood  seemed 
to  vibrate  as  if  we  were  in  the  scale  of  a  balance  that  con- 
tinued wavering.  This  motion,  however,  soon  grew  more 
violent ;  and  being  no  longer  able  to  keep  my  legs,  I  was 
thrown  prostrate  upon  the  ground.  In  the  mean  time  the 
universal  ruin  around  me  redoubled  my  amazement.  The 
crash  of  falling  houses,  the  tottering  of  towers,  and  the 
groans  of  the  dying,  all  contributed  to  raise  my  terror  and 
despair. 

5.  After  some  time,  however,  finding  that  I  remained 
unhurt  amid  the  general  concussion,  I  resolved  to  venture 
for  safety ;  and,  running  as  fast  as  I  could,  I  reached  the 
shore,  but  almost  terrified  out  of  my  reason.      I  did  not 
search   long  here  till  I  found  the  boat  in  which  I  had 
landed  ;  and  my  companions  also,  whose  terrors  were  even 
greater  than  mine.      Our  meeting,  was  not  of  that  kind 
where  every  one  is  desirous  of  telling  his  own  happy  escape  ; 
it  was  all  silence,  and  a  gloomy  dread  of  impending  terrors. 

6.  Leaving  this  seat  of  desolation,  we  prosecuted  our 
voyage  along  the  coast ;  and  next  came  to  Rochetta,  where 
we  landed,  although  the  earth  still  continued  in  violent 
agitations.     But  we  had  scarcely  arrived  at  our  inn  when 
we  were  once  more  obliged  to  return  to   the   boat ;   and 
in  about  half  an  hour  we  saw  the  greater  part  of  the  town, 
and  the  inn  at  which  we  had  put  up,  dashed  to  the  ground, 
burying  inhabitants  beneath  the  ruins. 

7.  In   this   manner,   proceeding   onward    in   our   little 
vessel,  finding  no  safety  at  land,  and  yet,  from  the  smallness 
of 'our  boat,  having  but  a  very  dangerous  continuance  at 
sea,  we  at  length  landed  at  Lopizium,  a  castle  midway  be- 
tween Tropea  and  Euphemia,  the  city  to  which,  as  I  said 
before,  we  were  bound.     Here,  wherever  I  turned  my  eyes, 
nothing  but  scenes  of  ruin  and  horror   appeared ;   towns 
and  castles  leveled  to  the  ground ;  Strornboli,  though  at 
sixty  miles  distance,   belching  forth   flames  in   an  unu- 


44  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

sual  manner,  and  with  a  noise  which   I  could  distinctly 
hear. 

8.  But  my  attention  was  quickly  turned  from  more  re- 
mote to  contiguous  danger.     The  rumbling  sound  of  an 
approaching  earthquake,  which  we  by  this  time  were  grown 
acquainted  with,  alarmed  us  for  the  consequences  ;  it  every 
moment  seemed  to  grow  louder,  and  to  approach  nearer. 
The  place  on  which  we  stood  now  began  to  shake  most 
dreadfully  ;  so,  being  unable  to  stand,  my  companions  and 
I  caught  hold  of  whatever  shrub  grew  next  to  us  and  sup- 
ported ourselves  in  that  manner. 

9.  After  some  time,  this  violent  paroxysm  ceasing,  we 
again  stood  up  in  order  to  prosecute  our  .voyage  to  Euphe- 
mia,  which  lay  within  sight.     In  the  mean  time,  while  we 
were  preparing  for  this  purpose,  I  turned  my  eyes  toward 
the  city,  but  could  see  only  a  frightful  dark  cloud  that 
seemed  to  rest  upon  the  place.     This  the  more  surprised 
us  as  the  weather  was  so  very  serene.     We  waited,  there- 
fore, till  the  cloud  had  passed  away ;  then  turning  to  look 
for  the  city,  it  was  totally  sunk.     Wonderful  to  tell  !  noth- 
ing but  a  dismal  and  putrid  lake  was  seen  where  it  stood. 

10.  We  looked  about  to  find  some  one  that  could  tell  us 
of  its  sad  catastrophe,  but  could  see  no  person.     All  was 
become  a  melancholy  solitude,  a  scene  of  hideous  desola- 
tion.    Thus  proceeding  pensively  along  in  quest  of  some 
human  being  that  could  give  a  little  information,  we  at 
length  saw  a  boy  sitting  by  the  shore,  and  appearing  stupe- 
fied with  terror.     Of  him,  therefore,  we  inquired  concern- 
ing the  fate  of  the  city  ;  but  he  could  not  be  prevailed  upon 
to  give  us  any  answer.     We  entreated  him,  with  every  ex- 
pression of  tenderness  and  pity,  to  tell  us,  but  his  senses 
were  quite  wrapped  up  in  the  contemplation  of  the  danger 
he  had  escaped.     We  offered  him  some  victuals,  but  he 
seemed  to  loathe  the  sight.     We  still  persisted  in  our  offices 
of  kindness,  but  he  only  pointed  to  the  place  of  the  city, 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES.  45 

like  one  out  of  his  senses  ;  and  then,  running  up  into  the 
woods,  was  never  heard  of  after. 

11.  Such  was  the  fate  of  the  city  of  Euphemia  ;  and,  as 
we  continued  our  melancholy  course  along  the  shore,  the 
whole  coast,  for  the  space  of  two  hundred  miles,  presented 
nothing  but  the  remains  of  cities,  and  men  scattered,  with- 
out a  habitation,  over  the  fields.  Proceeding  thus  along, 
we  at  length  ended  our  distressful  voyage  by  arriving  at 
Naples,  after  having  escaped  a  thousand  dangers  both  at 
sea  and  land. 

Goldsmith. 


THE    GREAT    EARTHQUAKE   AT    LISBON. 

1.  ON"  the  1st  of  November,  1755,  the  people  of  Lisbon 
rose  joyfully  from  their  beds  at  an  early  hour  of  the  morn- 
ing.    It  was  All  Saints'  Day,  and  the  church  had  resolved 
that  it  should  be  kept  with  unusual  splendor. 

2.  The  churches  were  decked  out  with  unaccustomed 
brilliancy.     Twice  as  many  tapers  as  usual  were  provided 
and  lit  upon  the  altars.    The  whole  of  the  church's  effective 
army  of  ecclesiastics,  including  the  Grand  Inquisitor,  priests, 
monks,  nuns,  and  the  choristers  lately  imported  from  Rome, 
was  marshalled  for  the  occasion. 

3.  For   a   moment,   on   the  afternoon  of   the   31st   of 
October,  the  vigilant  managers  had  feared  that  the  weather 
would  defeat  their  hopes.     The  atmosphere  was  gloomy ; 
the  sun  had  set  in  a  dark,  dense  cloud.     As  a  long  drought 
had   prevailed,  there   was   some   ground   for   anticipating 
rain  on  the  morrow.     But  when  day  broke  on  the  1st,  the 
ground  was  dry,  the  air  free  from  moisture.     Over   the 
river  and  bay  hung  a  dense,  dark  fog.     The  sea  was  as 
smooth  as  glass.     Not  a  breath  of  wind  stirred,  and  the 
dawn  promised  a  lovely  day — a  day,  said  the  priests,  suited 


46  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

to  the  anniversary,  and  to  the  devout  plans  of  the  faithful. 
As  the  sun  rose,  the  fog  gradually  gathered  itself  from  the 
sea  and  earth-level,  and  rose  into  the  air.  Glad  crowds 
issued  forth  from  the  houses,  and,  ere  the  day  had  fully 
broken,  the  town  began  to  witness  that  peculiar  combina- 
tion of  religious  ceremony  with  profane  amusement  which 
usually  marks  the  high  days  of  the  Catholic  Church  on  the 
European  continent. 

4.  And   now  the   bells   are   ringing   merry  or   solemn 
chimes  ;  on  one  side,  the  slow,  thick  tread  of  a  procession, 
preceded  by  the  tinkling  of  censers   and  the  monotonous 
chant  of  choristers,  breaks  the  morning  stillness  ;  on  the 
other,  gay  voices  are  mingled  joyously,  maidens  are  laugh- 
ing and  blushing  at  bold  pleasantries,  and  dashing  cabal- 
leros,    with    impudent   air,    are    swaggering    through   the 
throng.    All  Lisbon  is  afoot ;  all  Lisbon  has  promised  itself 
a  happy  day  on  this  1st  of  November.     But  hark  !    Above 
the  dull  tramp  of  the  friars,  above  the  bright  laughter  of 
the  maidens,  a  new  sound  strikes  the  ear — a  sound  not  to 
be  compared  to  anything  on  earth — such  a  sound,  perhaps, 
as  the  Israelite  stragglers  may  have  heard  when  the  Egyp- 
tian war-chariots  rolled  heavily  over  the  stones  in  the  bed  of 
the  Red  Sea.     'Tis  not  thunder,  for  'tis  beneath  our  feet. 
Nor  the  report  of  distant  cannons,  for  'tis  close  at  hand. 
Nor  the  rattle  of  wheels,  for  it  comes  from  the  sea.     Yet  it 
resembles  all  three.     Small  leisure  have  the  startled  people 
to  speculate  on  its  cause. 

5.  The  friars  have  just  looked  up  from  the  breviaries,  the 
choristers  have  missed  the  note  in  their  plain  chant,  the  men 
and  maidens  have  suddenly  grown  serious,  when,  in  the  space 
of  a  second,  the  hoarse,  low  sound  swells,  swells,  swells,  till 
it  deafens  the  ear,  and  at  the  same  moment  a  swift  earth- 
wave  sweeps  through  the  city.     With   a   stunning  crash, 
walls  and  houses,  steeples  and  monuments,  fall  heavily  to 
the  ground.     The  air  is  darkened  by  the  clouds  of  dust,  and 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES..  4tf 

none  can  see  before  him.  A  foul  sulphureous  gas  impreg- 
nates the  atmosphere.  To  breathe  is  scarcely  less  fatal  than 
to  be  deprived  of  breath. 

60  Then  begins  a  headlong  rush  of  people  no  one  knows 
whither.  Men  fly  from  their  houses  into  the  street,  to  be 
crushed  by  the  very  walls  and  roofs  which  just  now  shel- 
tered them.  Others  crouch  down  where  they  are,  and 
pass  noiselessly,  insensibly  out  of  existence  in  the  general 
ruin.  Groups  gather  round  the  priests  and  the  painted 
symbols  of  religion,  and  pray  wildly  for  misericorde. 
Some  one  cries,  "  The  end  of  the  world  has  come  !  "  An- 
other, rousing  himself  from  despair,  shouts,  "  To  the  quay  ! 
to  the  quay  !  "  And  to  the  quay  the  frightened  concourse 
run,  trampling  the  weaker  in  their  blind  haste. 

7.  Two  or  three  minutes  have  elapsed,  and  the  quay  of 
the  Tagus  is  overloaded  with  human  beings.     Again  the 
awful    rumbling  is  heard,  and  again  the  earth-wave  flies 
through  the  city,  and  crash,  crash  fall  walls  and  edifices. 
This  time  the  earthquake  moves  with  short,  quick  jerks. 
Nothing  resists  it.     In  the  midst  of  the  crowd  on  the  quay 
the  priests  are  offering  thanks  for  their  preservation  from 
this  second  shock,  when  all  eyes  are  suddenly  turned  toward 
the  water.     In  the  air  a  dead  calm  prevails,  but  the  sea  is 
lashed  into  fury  by  some  unknown  force.     "The  sea  is 
coming  in  upon  us  ;  we  shall  be  lost,  we  shall  be  lost ! "  cries 
the  agonized  crowd. 

8.  The  words  have  scarcely  been  spoken  when  the  spray 
is  dashed  over  the  quay,  and  the  wave  follows.     Over  quay 
and  shore,  through  the  streets  and  squares,  into  the  houses 
and  over  the  smoking  ruins,  the  huge  wave,  fifty  feet  high, 
rushes  furiously,  carrying  everything  before  it.     Ships  are 
landed   on   the  roofs  of  fallen  houses,  smaller  crafts  are 
whirled  to  the  very  outskirts  of  the  city.     When  the  wave 
subsides,  the  survivors  look  in  vain  for  the  quay  and  the 
throng  which  stood  there  two  minutes  ago.     All  are  gone. 


48  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

The  quay  itself  has  sunk  to  unknown  depths,  and  neither 
any  fragment  thereof  nor  any  trace  of  the  thousands  who 
had  sought  refuge  on  its  surface  is  ever  seen  again.  The 
submarine  chasm  which  had  gaped  to  receive  them  must 
have  closed  upon  their  living  bodies  and  buried  them  fath- 
oms and  fathoms  deep.  Even  the  few  vessels  which  were 
moored  to  the  quay  were  submerged  with  it,  and  buried  in 
n  like  manner. 

9.  Six  minutes  had  elapsed  since  the  rumbling  sound  was 
first  heard,  and  60,000  souls  had  perished.     Again  the  sur- 
vivors thronged  the  open  space,  which  now,  as  the  neigh- 
boring edifices  had  fallen,  offered  a  refuge  that  might  rea- 
sonably  be   considered  safe.      In  prayer  and   agony  they 
waited  for  the  next  shock.     But  the  earthquake  had  ex- 
pended its  strength.     Minutes,  then  hours,  elapsed  without 
fresh  shocks.     Lisbon  began  to  breathe  again.     About  noon 
a  vibration  was  heard,  and  a  wave  once  more  swept  through 
the  city,  but  there  was  little  left  to  destroy,  and  its  only 
effect  was  to  close  several  chasms  which  had  opened  in  the 
walls   of   the   houses.      Fires   had   burst   forth   from   the 
churches  ;  smoke  mingled  with  the  dust,  and  darkened  the 
sky. 

10.  For  more  than  a  week  stupor  paralyzed  the  survivors 
of  the  earthquake.     The  fire  raged  six  days,  and  was  only 
extinguished  by  the  exertions  of  the  Marquis  of  Pombal, 
who,  like  all  great  men,  drew  courage  and  energy  from  the 
greatness  of  the  peril.     Thieves  swarmed  over  the  ruins, 
until  the  King  erected  a  score  or  more  of  scaffolds  and  dec- 
orated each  with  the  corpse  of  a  robber  caught  in  the  act. 

11.  This  earthquake  is  the  most  wonderful  on  record, 
llumboldt  estimates  that  it  was  felt  over  an  area  four  times 
greater  than  that  of  Europe.     The  Portuguese  mountains 
rocked.     On  the  southern  shore  of  the  Mediterranean  the 
earth-wave  was  as  fatally  experienced  as  at  Lisbon.      A 
town  near  Morocco  is  said  to  have  been  swallowed  up  with 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES.  49 

all  its  inhabitants.  Strange  phenomena  appeared  in  the 
Alps  and  interior  of  Europe.  Springs  were  dried  up,  and 
the  water  of  lakes  violently  agitated  and  discolored.  On 
the  coast  of  Sweden  the  sea  rushed  upon  the  land  with  ex- 
traordinary fury.  England  was  so  shaken  in  some  places 
that  men  were  thrown  from  their  seats.  A  heavy  wave 
rolled  into  the  harbor  of  Cork,  in  Ireland,  washing  the 
vessels  from  their  moorings  and  submerging  the  quays. 

12.  At  Antigua,  and  several  of  the  West  India  islands, 
the  sea  rose  suddenly  twenty  feet,   and  the  water  was  as 
black  as  ink.     Travelers  on  the  western  lakes,  and  some  of 
the  French  officers  who  were  on  the  line  of  the  Ohio  (it 
was  the  year  of   General  Braddock's  defeat  at  Fort  Du- 
quesne),  report  that  they  felt  an  earthquake  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  day. 

13.  Ships  at  sea  on  the  Atlantic  felt  it  distinctly,  and 
the  sailors  sprang  from  their  berths  in  belief  that  the  vessel 
had  struck  a  rock.     So  well  established  are  its  travels  that 
philosophers  have  been  enabled  to  specify  its  progress  at 
twenty  miles  an  hour. 

Harper's  Magazine. 


EARTHQUAKES    IN    AMERICA    IN     1811-12. 

1.  THE  disturbance  began  by  the  appearance  of  a  new 
island  in  the  Azores.     On  the  30th  of  January,  1811,  the 
inhabitants  of  St.  Michael  were  surprised  to  see  ashes  and 
dust  and  fragments  of  rock  bursting  forth  from  the  ocean. 
The  eruption  continued   for  several  days,  at   the   end   of 
which  time  a  solid  island  was  formed,  chiefly  covered  by  a 
volcanic  mountain,   with  an  active  crater  in  the  center. 
The  discharge  did  no  injury,  and  the  island  anadyomene 
was  christened  Sabrina. 

2.  Five  months  afterward  an  earthquake  took  place  in 


50  GEOGRAPHICAL  HEADER. 

the  next  link  in  the  volcanic  chain — the  island  of  St.  Vin- 
cent, in  the  West  Indies.  It  was  not  violent,  nor  very  de- 
structive ;  but,  like  the  volcano  Sabrina,  its  activity  was 
incessant.  Another  five  months  elapsed  without  particular 
change,  when,  in  November  and  December,  1811,  shocks 
were  felt  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  in  the  vicinity  of 
New  Madrid.  They  were  sharp,  frequent,  and  often  very 
destructive.  At  times  a  wave  swept  over  the  soil  as  though 
it  had  been  fluid,  bending  trees  till  their  branches  touched 
the  ground,  first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other.  Pools  of 
water  were  suddenly  seen  to  cover  what  had  always  been 
dry  land  ;  then,  after  an  hour  or  two,  to  subside  and  dis- 
appear. In  some  places  the  soil  subsided  in  like  manner  to 
the  depth  of  some  eight  or  ten  feet ;  in  others,  hilly  ridges 
were  thrown  up.  Thirty-five  years  afterward  Sir  Charles 
Lyell  visited  the  locality,  examined  the  "sunk  ground," 
and  saw  the  "sink-holes"  out  of  which  the  eruption  had 
taken  place  ;  he  agrees  with  Humboldt  in  considering  the 
phenomenon  as  one  of  the  most  curious  on  record,  consid- 
ering the  isolation  of  the  locality,  and  the  distance  which 
divides  it  from  an  active  volcano. 

3.  At  the  very  time  New  Madrid  began  to  be  shaken,  a 
sharp  shock  was  felt  at  Caracas,  a  sea-port  town  in  Vene- 
zuela.    It  was  not  much  noticed,  and  business  went  on  as 
usual. 

4.  During  the  following  three  months  the  ground  near 
New  Madrid,  the  island  of  St.  Vincent,  and  portions  of 
the  Venezuclean  shore  never  ceased  to  quake.     Tremblings 
were  experienced  daily.     Still  no  one  seemed  to  have  looked 
for  any  greater  disaster.     Immemorial  security  from  earth- 
quakes explains  the  confidence  of  the  dwellers  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  as  for  the  Venezuelans,  the  authorities  in  the 
Spanish  countries  have  always  discountenanced  any  like 
apprehensions  of  this  kind.     In  Mexico,  for   instance,  as 
Humboldt  tells  us,  chose  who  have  fled  to  escape  an  earth- 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES.  51 

quake  were  heavily  fined  or  imprisoned  ;  the  magistrates 
used  coolly  to  announce  that  "they,"  in  their  wisdom, 
would  know  when  there  was  actual  danger,  and  would  give 
orders  for  flight. 

5.  Reassured,  perhaps,  by  some  similar  consolation,  the 
people  of  Caracas  and  La  Guayra  spent  the  morning  of  the 
26th  of  March  in  the  ceremonies  and  processions  peculiar 
to  Holy  Week  in  Catholic  countries.      "  Business,"  says 
Walker,  who  was  an  eye-witness,  "was  entirely  suspended  ; 
the  inhabitants  appeared  in  their  gayest  attire  ;  the  females 
and  children  were  loaded  with  jewelry ;  the  streets  were 
swept  and  partially  strewed  with   flowers.     The  weather 
was  peculiarly  line  ;  the  sun  shone  brightly,  but  not  op- 
pressively, from  the  deep-blue  sky,  on  the  wide  expanse  of 
which  not  a  cloud  was  to  be  seen.     The  streets  were  gay 
with  passengers,  who  sauntered  along  in  careless  groups ; 
no  sounds  were  heard  but  those  of  amusement  and  hilarity." 

6.  Upon  this  glad  scene,  suddenly,  at  twenty  minutes 
past  four,  broke  a  low,  rumbling  noise,  coming  evidently 
from  the  bowels  of  the  earth.     Still  so  blindly  confident  of 
security  were  the  people  that  they  quietly  observed  to  each 
other  that  the  sound  was  that  of  a  troop  of  horse  galloping 
down  a  neighboring  street.     Soon,  however,  the  noise  in- 
creased, and  the  ground  began  to  tremble.     Then  the  cry 
arose  from  the  terrified  crowd,   "  Teramoto  !  " 

7.  At  the  same  moment  the  walls  of  the  houses  began 
to  crack,  and  the  plaster  to  fall.     The  wiser  of  the  inhabit- 
ants rushed   to  the  open  squares   and    the  center  of   the 
crossings,  but  many,  paralyzed  by  fear,  fell  on  their  knees 
where  they  stood,  and  prayed  wildly.      Shock  succeeded 
shock  with  increasing  rapidity  and  vehemence. 

8.  The  priests,  with  the  peculiar  courage  of  their  order, 
energetically  called  upon  the  faithful  to  take  refuge  in  the 
churches,  as  they  assured  them  that  the  earthquake  would 
not  injure  the  sanctuaries  of  God.     Numbers  obeyed  the 

5 


52  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

appeal,  and  flocked  round  the  altars.  They  were  still 
thronging  in  when  the  earthquake  culminated  in  one  ter- 
rific crash.  Half  the  city  crumbled,  the  churches,  being 
the  highest  buildings,  falling  among  the  first,  and  burying 
priests  and  faithful  together.  For  a  few  moments  after  the 
last  shock  the  air  was  so  darkened  by  the  clouds  of  dust 
which  arose  from  the  ruin  that  nothing  could  be  seen. 
When  the  dust  blew  away,  desolation  stared  the  survivors 
on  every  side,  and  to  the  hoarse  rumbling  of  the  earth- 
quake had  succeeded  the  shrieks  and  moans  of  the  unfor- 
tunates who  lay  buried  in  the  ruins.  Mr.  Walker  noted 
that  from  the  first  subterranean  noise  to  the  final  crash  not 
more  than  one  minute  had  elapsed — a  minute  in  which  dis- 
asters to  fill  a  century  had  been  condensed.  Over  fifteen 
thousand  persons  had  perished.  Caracas  was  destroyed. 
La  Guayra  was  partially  respited,  only  to  meet  the  same  fate 
a  week  afterward. 

9.  But  the  convulsive  force  had  at  length  found  an  exit. 
The  earthquake  at  Caracas  took  place  on  the  26th  of 
March  ;  that  which  overwhelmed  La  Guayra  on  the  4th  of 
April  ;  on  the  30th  of  April  a  new  volcano  burst  into  activ- 
ity on  the  Island  of  St.  Vincent,  and  ashes  from  the  erup- 
tion were  carried  windward  as  far  as  Barbadoes.  The 
island  itself  was  completely  destroyed  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses. 

Harper's  Magazine. 


MONTE    NUOVO. 

1.  THE  region  about  Naples  in  Italy  is  volcanic.  About 
ten  miles  east  of  the  city  is  the  noted  volcano  Mount  Vesu- 
vius, and  about  eight  miles  west  is  a  portion  of  country 
which  from  the  earliest  times  on  record  has  been  the  center 
of  volcanic  action.  Hot  springs  abound,  and,  in  ancient 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES,  53 

times,  the  city  of  Baiae,  which  was  here  built,  became  a 
watering-place  for  wealthy  Roman  citizens,  and  was  spe- 
cially noted  for  its  hot  baths.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  is 
the  Solfatara,  an  opening  in  the  ground,  which  is  evidently 
the  crater  of  an  old  volcano,  from  which  smoke  almost  con- 
stantly issues.  In  1538  this  whole  region  was  greatly  agi- 
tated by  earthquakes,  and  in  September  of  that  year  fire 
issued  from  the  ground,  throwing  up  immense  quantities  of 
earth  and  ashes  for  the  period  of  several  weeks,  and  when 
the  commotion  subsided  it  was  found  that  a  new  mountain 
nearly  five  hundred  feet  high  had  been  formed.  This  is 
called  Monte  Nuovo.  The  following  vivid  account  of  the 
formation  is  from  an  eye-witness,  written  immediately  after 
the  occurrence  : 

2.  "It  is  now  ten  years  that  this  province  of  Campagna 
has  been  afflicted  with  earthquakes,  the  country  about  Poz- 
zuolo  much  more  than  any  other  parts  ;  but  on  the  27th  and 
28th  of  the  month  of  September  last,  the  earthquakes  did 
not  cease,  day  or  night,  in  the  above-mentioned  city  of  Poz- 
zuolo.     That  plain  which  lies  between  the  Lake  of  Averno, 
the  Monte  Barbaro,  and  the  sea,  was  raised  a  little,  and 
many  cracks  were  made  in  it,  from  some  of  which  issued 
water  ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  sea,  which  was  very  near 
the  plain,  dried  up  about  two  hundred  paces,  so  that  the 
fish  were  left  on  the  sand,  a  prey  to  the  inhabitants  of  Poz- 
zuolo. 

3.  "At  last,  on  the  29th  of  the  said  month,  about  two 
hours  in  the  night,  the  earth  opened  near  the  lake,  and  dis- 
covered a  horrid  mouth,  from  which  were  vomited  furiously, 
smoke,  fire,  stones,  and  mud,  composed  of  ashes ;  making 
at  the  time  of  its  opening  a  noise  like  very  loud  thunder. 
The  fire  that  issued  from  this  mouth  went  toward  the  walls 
of  the  unfortunate  city  ;  the  smoke  was  partly  black  and 
partly  white  :  the  black  was  darker  than  darkness  itself, 
and  the  white  was  like  the  whitest  cotton ;  these  smokes 


54  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

rising  in  the  air  seemed  as  if  they  would  touch  the  vault  of 
heaven ;  the  stones  that  followed  were  by  the  devouring 
flames  converted,  to  pumice,  the  size  of  which  (of  some,  I 
say)  were  much  larger  than  an  ox. 

4.  "The  stones  went  about  as  high  as  a  cross-bow  can 
carry,  and  then  fell  down,  sometimes  on  the  edge,  and 
sometimes  into  the  mouth  itself.    It  is  very  true  that  many 
of  them  in  going  up  could  not  be  seen,  on  account  of  the 
dark  smoke  ;  but,  when  they  returned  from  the  smoky  heat, 
they  showed  plainly  where  they  had  been  by  the  strong 
smell  of  fetid  sulphur,  just  like   stones  that  have  been 
thrown  out  of  a  mortar,   and   have   passed   through  the 
smoke  of  inflamed  gunpowder.     The  mud  was  of  the  color 
of  ashes,  and  at  first  very  liquid,  then  by  degrees  less  so  ; 
and  in  such  quantities  that  in  less  than  twelve  hours,  with 
the  help  of  the  above-mentioned  stones,  a  mountain  was 
raised  of  a  thousand  paces  *  in  height.     Not  only  Pozzuolo 
and  the  neighboring  country  was  full  of  this  mud,  but  the 
city  of  Naples  also,  the  beauty  of  whose  palaces  was,  in  a 
great  measure,  spoiled  by  it.     The  ashes  were  carried  as  far 
as  Calabria  by  the  force  of  the  winds,  burning  up  in  their 
passage  the  grass  and  high  trees,  many  of  which  were  borne 
down  by  the  weight  of  them.     An  infinity  of  birds,  and 
numberless  animals  of  various  kinds,-  covered  with  this  sul- 
phurous mud,  gave  themselves  up  as  a  prey  to  man. 

5.  "Now  this  eruption  lasted  two  nights  and  two  days 
without  intermission,  though,  it  is  true,  not  always  with 
the  same  force,  but  more  or  less.    When  it  was  at  its  great- 
est heigh  b,  even  at  Naples  you  heard  a  noise  or  thundering, 
like  heavy  artillery  when  two  armies  are  engaged.     The 
third  day  the  eruption  ceased,  so  that  the  mountain  made 
its  appearance  uncovered,  to  the  no  small  astonishment  of 

*  The  meaning  is  one  thousand  paces  in  ascent.  The  distance  from  the 
sea  in  a  straight  line  is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  the  height  of  the 
mountain  above  sea-level  is  four  hundred  and  forty  feet. 


EARTHQUAKES  AND    VOLCANOES.  55 

every  one  who  saw  it.  On  this  day,  when  I  went  up  with 
many  people  to  the  top  of  this  mountain,  I  saw  down  into 
its  mouth,  which  was  a  round  cavity  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  in  circumference,  in  the  middle  of  which  the  stones 
that  had  fallen  were  boiling  up,  just  as  in  a  great  caldron 
of  water  that  boils  on  the  fire. 

6.  "The  fourth  day  it  began  to  throw  up  again,  and 
the  seventh  much  more,  but  still  with  less  violence  than  on 
the  first  night.  It  was  at  this  time  that  many  people, 
who  were  unfortunately  on  the  mountain,  were  either  sud- 
denly covered  with  ashes,  smothered  with  smoke,  or  knocked 
down  by  stones,  burned  by  the  flames,  and  left  dead  on  the 
spot.  The  smoke  continues  to  this  day,  and  you  often  see 
in  the  night-time  fire  in  the  midst  of  it.  Finally,  to  com- 
plete the  history  of  this  new  and  unforeseen  event,  in  many 
parts  of  the  new-made  mountain  sulphur  begins  to  be  gen- 
erated." 


PART  IV. 
RIVERS  AND  LAKES. 


EGYPT  AND  THE  Nl  LE. 

1.  THE  Nile  landscape  is  not  monotonous,  although  of 
one  general  character.     In  that  soft  air  the  lines  change 
constantly,  but  imperceptibly,  and  are  always  so  delicately 
lined  and  drawn  that  the  eye  floats  satisfied  along  the  warm 
tranquillity  of  the  scenery. 

2.  Egypt  is  the  valley  of  the  Nile.     At  its  widest  part 
it  is,  perhaps,  eight  or  ten  miles  broad,  and  is  walled  upon 
the  west  by  the  Libyan  Mountains,  and  upon  the  east  by  the 
Arabian.     The  scenery  is  simple  and  grand.     The  forms  of 
the  landscape  harmonize  with  the  forms  of  the  impression 
of  Egypt  in  the  mind.     Solemn  and  still  and  inexplicable 
sits  that  antique  mystery  among  the  flowery  fancies  and 
broad  green  fertile  feelings  of  your  mind  and  contemporary 
life,  as  the  Sphinx  sits  upon  the  edge  of  the  grain-green 
plain.     No  scenery  is  grander  in  its  impression,  for  none  is 
so  symbolical.     The  land  seems  to  have  died  with  the  race 
that  made  it  famous — it  is  so  solemnly  still. 

3.  Day  after  day  unrolls  to  the  eye  the  perpetual  pano- 
rama of  fields  wide-waving  with  the  tobacco,  and  glittering 
with  the  golden-blossomed  cotton,  among  which  half-naked 
men  and  women  are  lazily  working.     Palm-groves  stand, 
each  palm  a  poem,  brimming  your  memory  with  beauty. 


RIVERS  AND  LAKES.  57 

You  know  that  you  are  passing  the  remains  of  ancient 
cities,  as  the  ibis  loiters  languidly  before  the  rising  and 
falling  north  wind,  or  is  wearily  drawn  against  the  stream 
by  the  crew  filing  along  the  shore.  An  occasional  irregular 
reach  of  mounds  and  a  bit  of  crumbling  wall  distract  imagi- 
nation as  much  with  the  future  as  the  past,  straining  to 
picture  the  time  when  New  York  shall  be  an  irregular  reach 
of  mounds  or  a  bit  of  crumbling  wall. 

4.  The  austere  Arabian  mountains  leave  Cairo  with  us, 
and  stretch  in  sad  monotony  of  strength  along  the  eastern 
shore.     There   they   shine  sandily,  the   mighty   advanced 
guard  of  the  desert — "Here,"  say  they,  and  plant  their 
stern  feet  for  ever,  and  over  their  shoulders  sweep  and  sing 
the  low  wild   winds  from  mid- Arabia — "sand-grains  out- 
numbering all  thy  dear  drops  of  water  are  behind  us,  to 
maintain  our  might  and  subdue  thee,  fond,  fair  river  ! " 
But  it  glides  unheeded  at  their  base,  litherly  swinging  its 
long,  unbroken  phalanx  of  sweet  waters — waving  gently 
against  the  immovable  cliffs  like  palm-branches  of  peace 
against  a  foe's  serried  front. 

5.  Presently  the  Libyan  Heights  appear,  and  the  river 
is  invested.     A  sense  of  fate  then  seizes  you,  and  you  feel 
that  the  two  powers  must  measure  their  might  at  last,  and 
you  go  forward  to  the  cataract  with  the  feeling  of  one  who 
shall  behold  terrible  battles. 

6.  Yet  the  day,  mindful  only  of  beauty,  lavishes  all  its 
light  upon  the  mighty  foes,  adorning  them  each  impartially 
for  its  own  delight.     Along  the  uniform  Arabian  highland 
it  swims  and  flashes,  and  fades  in  exquisite  hues,  magically 
making  it  the  sapphire  wall  of  the  imagination,  which  fer- 
tile  Arabia   is  ;  or  in  the  full  gush  of  noon  standing  it 
along  the  eastern  horizon  as  an  image  of  those  boundless 
deserts   which   no   man   can   conceive  more  than   the  sea 
until  he  beholds  them. 

7.  In  the  early  morning  flocks  of  water-birds  are  ranged 


58  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

along  the  river — herons,  kingfishers,  flamingoes,  ducks,  ibis 
— a  motley  multitude,  in  the  shadows  of  the  high  clay 
banks,  or  on  the  low  sandy  strips.  They  spread  languid  wings 
and  sail  snowily  away.  The  sun  strikes  them  into  splendor. 
They  float  and  fade,  and  are  lost  in  the  brilliance  of  the  sky. 
Under  the  sharp,  high  rocks,  at  the  doors  of  their  cliff  re- 
treats, sit  sagely  the  cormorants,  and  meditate  the  passing 
llowadji.  Like  larger  birds  reposing  shine  the  sharp  sails 
of  boats,  near  or  far.  Their  images  strike  deep  into  the 
water  and  tremble  away. 

8.  Then  come  the  girls  and  women  to  the  water-side, 
bearing  jars  upon  their  heads.     On  the  summit  of  the  bank 
they  walk  erect  and  stately,  profile  drawn  against  the  sky. 
Bending  and  plashing,  and  playing  in  the  water,  with  little 
jets  of  water  that  would  brightly  flash,   if  we  could  see 
them,  they  fill  their  jars,  and  in  a  long  file  recede  and  dis- 
appear among  the  palms.     Over  the  brown  mud  villages 
the  pigeons  coo  and  fly,  and  hang  by  hundreds  upon  the 
clumsy  towers  built  for  them,  and  a  long  pause  of  sun  and 
silence  follows.     Presently  turbaned  Abraham,  with  flowing 
garment  and  snowy  beard,  leaning  upon  his  staff,  passes 
with  Sarah  along  the  green  path  on  the  river's  edge  toward 
Memphis  and  King  Pharaoh.     On  the  opposite  desert  lin- 
gers Hagar  with  Ishmael  pausing  and  looking  back. 

9.  The  day  deepens  ;  calmer  is  the  calm.     It  is  noon,  and 
magnificent  Dendereh  stands  inland  on  the  desert  edge  of 
Libya,  a  temple  of  rare  preservation,  of  Isis-headed  col- 
umns, with  the  same  portrait  of  Cleopatra  upon  the  walls — 
a  temple  of  silence,  with  dark  chambers  cool  from  the  sun, 
and  the  sculptures  in  cabinet  squares  upon  the  walls.     Let 
it  float  by,  no  more  than  a  fleeting  picture  for  ever.     It  is 
St.   Valentine's    day,  but  they   are   harvesting   upon   the 
shores,   resting  awhile  now  till  the  sun  is  sloping.     The 
shadeless  Libyan  and  Arabian  highlands  glare  upon  the 
burning  sun.     The  slow  sakias  sing  and  sigh.     The  palms 


RIVERS  AND  LAKES.  59 

are  moveless  as  in  the  backgrounds  of  old  pictures.  To  our 
eyes  it  is  perpetual  picture  slowly  changing.  The  shore- 
lines melt  into  new  forms,  other,  yet  the  same.  We  know 
not  if  we  wake  or  sleep,  so  dreamlike  exquisite  is  either 
sleeping  or  waking. 

10.  The  afternoon  declines   as  we  drift  slowly  under 
AJboojayda  with  a  soft  south  wind.     Its  cliffs  are  like  masses 
of  old  masonry,  and  wheeling  hawks  swoop  downward  to 
its  sharp,  bold  peaks.     Ducks  are  diving  in  the  dark  water 
of  its  shadow.     The  white  radiance  of  the  noon  is  more 
rosily  tinged.     Every  form  is  fairer  in  the  westering  light. 
We  left  Asyoot  yesterday  ;  at  evening  we  saw  its  many  mina- 
rets fade  in  the  dark  of  the  hills,  like  the  strains  of  ara- 
besqued  Arabian  songs  dying  in  the  twilight,  and  at  dusk  a 
solitary  jackal  prowled  stealthily  along  the  shore.     Joseph's 
brethren  pass  with  camels  and  asses,  to  buy  corn  in  Egypt. 
Geese  in  arrowy  flight  pierce  the  profound  repose  of  the 
sky.     Golden  gloom  gathers  in  the  palm-groves.     Among 
the  scaled  trunks,  like  columns  of  a  temple,  passes  a  group 
of  girls  attending  Pharaoh's  daughter.     Shall  we  reach  the 
shore  before  her,  and  find  the  young  Moses,  Nile-nursed 
with  the  sweet  sound  of  calmly  flowing  waters,  and  the 
sublime  silence  of  the  sky  ? 

11.  The  sun  sets  far  over  Libya.     He  colors  the  death 
of  the  desert  as  he  tinges  the  live  sea  in  his  setting.     Dark 
upon  the  molten  west,  in  waving,  rounding  lines,  the  fad- 
ing flights  of  birds  are  yet  traced,  seeking  the  rosy  south,  or 
following  the  sun.     The   day  dies  divinely  as  it  lived. 
Primeval  silence  surrounded  us  all  the  time.     What  life 
and  sound  we  saw  and  heard  no  more  jarred  the  silence 
than  the  aurora  lights  the  night. 

12.  The  dazzling  moon  succeeds,  and  the  night  is  only 
a   day   more   delicate.      A   solitary   phantom   bark  glides 
singing  past — its  sails  as  dark  below  as  above,  twin- winged 
in  air  and  water.     Whither,  whither,  ye  ghostly  mariners  ? 


60  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

Why  so   sad   your   singing  ?  ^  Why  so  languid-weary   the 
slow  plash  of  oars  ? 

13.  Or  only  the  stars  shine.  Strange  that,  in  a  land 
where  stars  shine  without  the  modesty  of  mist,  women  veil 
their  faces.  Clearly  Mohammed  received  his  inspired  leaves 
in  a  star-screened  cave,  and  not  in  the  full  face  of  heaven. 
But  let  him  still  suspended  be,  for  dimly  glancing  among 
the  palrns,  silverly  haloed  by  the  stars  that  loved  his  man- 
ger—  behold  the  young  child  and  mother,  with  Joseph 
leading  the  ass,  flying  into  the  land  ! 

George  W.  Curtis. 


THE    DEAD    SEA. 

1.  THE  Dead  Sea  lies  southeast  from  Jerusalem  about 
twenty-five  miles,  and  is  the  receptacle  of  the  water  of  the 
river  Jordan  on  the  north,  of  the  Wady-el-Seib  on  the  south. 
All  the  waters  that  pour  into  this  sea  are  soft  and  fresh, 
but  the  sea  itself  is  acrid  and  salt.    Dr.  Robinson,  Eliot  War- 
burton,  and  other  travelers  found  the  water  sharp  and  burn- 
ing to  the  eyes,  the  nostrils,  and  the  mouth.     It  is  satu- 
rated with  mineral  salts  some  3|  pounds  to  every  gallon. 
It  contains  common  salt,  chloride  and  bromide  of  mag- 
nesium, and  muriate  of  lime  in  large  quantities.     These,  no 
doubt,  come  from  the  masses  of  rock  which  line  the  shores  ; 
balls  of  pure  sulphur,  too,  are  found  on  the  shores  and  the 
surrounding  plain.     The  strength  of  these  ingredients  is 
heightened  by  the  continual  evaporation  which  ever  goes  on, 
and  which  veils  the  surface  of  the  lake  with  a  peculiar  mist. 

2.  The  weight  of  the  water,  owing  to  these  ingredients, 
is  12-J  per  cent,  greater  than  that  of  sea- water.      This  ex- 
plains its  surprising  buoyancy,  which  enabled  Dr.  Robin- 
son, who  could  never  swim  before,  to  swim,  sit,  lie,  and 


RIVERS  AND  LAKES.  61 


UN;  TY 

CALi 


walk  in  it.     Indeed,  it  is  impossible  in  swimming  to  keep 
the  legs  below  the  surface. 

3.  It  was  once  believed  that  no  living  thing  could  be 
found  in  it,  and  that  birds  flying  over  it  would  drop  down 
dead.     These  are  disproved  by  recent  travelers,  who  have 
shot  ducks  on  its  surface,  while  snipe,  partridges,  nightin- 
gales,  doves,  and  hares  are  found  along  the  shores ;  and 
Ehrenberg  discovered  eighteen  species  of  inferior  creatures 
in  its  mud.     The  sea  is  46  miles  long,  and  its  greatest  width 
is  about  10  miles.     It  is  divided  by  a  peninsula  or  arm  ex- 
tending from  the  eastern  shore  ;  the  waters  to  the  north 
reach  the  great  depth  of  1,300  feet,  while  the  lagoon  south 
of  it  is  shallow. 

4.  Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  fact  is  that  it  lies  in  a 
tremendous  hollow  or  depression  of  the  earth  1,312  feet 
below  the  Mediterranean,  to  which  there  is  no  apparent 
outlet.     No  such  strange  formation  exists  elsewhere  on  the 
earth's  surface,  and,  when  the   terrible  convulsion  which 
caused  it  took  place,  it  is  impossible  to  determine. 

5.  At  the  southwest  corner  of  the  lake,  below  where  the 
ravines  break  down  through  the  inclosing  heights,  the  beach 
is  encroached  on  by  the  salt  mountain  or  ridge  of  Khashur 
Usderm.     This   remarkable  object  has  been  hitherto  but 
imperfectly  known.     It  is  a  low,  level  ridge  or  dike,  several 
miles  in  length.     Its  northern  portion  runs  south-southeast, 
but  after  more  than  half  its  length  it  makes  a  sudden  and 
decided  bend  to  the  right,  and  then  runs  southwest.     It  is 
from  300  to  400  feet  in  height,  of  considerable  width,  con- 
sisting of  a  body  of  crystallized  rock-salt,  .more  or  less  solid, 
covered  with  a  capping  of  chalky  limestone  and  gypsum. 
The  lower  portion,  the  rock-salt,  rises  abruptly  from  the 
glossy  plain  at  its  eastern  base,  sloping  back  at  an  angle  of 
not  more  than  45°,  often  less. 

6.  We  make  the  following  extract  from  the  journal  of 
Lieutenant  Lynch,  of  the  American  Exploring  Expedition, 


62  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

giving  his  first  experience  in  navigating  the  sea  :  "A  fresh 
north  wind  was  blowing  as  we  rounded  the  point  and  en- 
tered the  sea  from  the  Jordan.  We  endeavored  to  steer  a 
little  to  the  north  of  west  to  make  a  true  west  course,  and 
threw  the  patent  log  overboard  to  measure  the  distance  ; 
but  the  wind  rose  so  rapidly  that  the  boats  could  not  keep 
head  to  the  wind,  and  we  were  obliged  to  haul  the  log  in. 
The  sea  continued  to  rise  with  the  increasing  wind,  which 
gradually  freshened  to  a  gale,  and  presented  an  agitated 
surface  of  foaming  brine  ;  the  spray,  evaporating  as  it  fell, 
left  incrustations  of  salt  upon  our  clothes,  our  hands,  and 
faces,  and,  while  it  conveyed  a  prickly  sensation  wherever 
it  touched  the  skin,  was,  above  all,  exceedingly  painful  to  the 
eyes.  The  boats,  heavily  laden,  struggled  sluggishly  at  first ; 
but,  when  the  wind  freshened  in  its  fierceness,  from  the 
density  of  the  water  it  seemed  as  if  their  bows  were  encoun- 
tering the  sledge-hammers  of  the  Titans,  instead  of  the  op- 
posing waves  of  an  angry  sea. 

7.  "  Finding  that  we  were  losing  every  moment,  and 
with  the  lapse  of  each  succeeding  one  danger  increased,  we 
kept  away  from  the  northern  shore,  in  the  hope  of  being  yet 
able  to  reach  it,  our  arms,  our  clothes,  and  skins  coated 
with  a  greasy  salt,  and  our  lips,  eyes,  and  nostrils  smarting 
excessively.     How  different  was  the  scene  before  the  sub- 
merging of  the  plain,  which  was  '  even  as  the  garden  of  the 
Lord  ! ' 

8.  "But,  although  the  sea  had  assumed  a  threatening 
aspect,  and  the  fretted  mountains,  sharp  and  incinerated, 
loomed  terrific  on  either  side,  and  salt  and  ashes  mingled 
with  its  sands,  and  fetid  sulphurous  springs  trickled  down 
its  sides,  we  did  not  despair  ;  awe-struck  but  not  terrified, 
fearing  the  worst  but  hoping  for  the  best,  we  prepared  to 
spend  a  dreary  night  upon  the  dreariest  waste  we  had  ever 
seen. 

9.  "At  5.  58  the  wind  instantaneously  abated,  and  with 


RIVERS  AND  LAKES,  63 

it  the  sea  as  rapidly  fell,  the  water,  from  its  ponderous 
quality,  settling  as  the  agitating  cause  had  ceased  to  act. 
Within  twenty  minutes  from  the  time  we  bore  away  from  a 
sea  which  threatened  to  ingulf  us,  we  were  pulling  at  a 
rapid  rate  over  a  placid  sheet  of  water  that  scarcely  rippled 
beneath  us  :  and  a  rain-cloud  which  had  enveloped  the 
sterile  mountains  of  the  Arabian  shore  lifted  up,  and  left 
their  rugged  outlines  basking  in  the  light  of  the  setting 

sun." 

Charles  W.  Eliot. 


LAKE  TITICACA  AND    ITS   SACRED    ISLANDS. 

1.  LAKE  TITICACA  is  a  long,  irregular  ellipse  in  shape, 
with  one  fifth  of  its  area  at  its  southern  extremity  cut  nearly 
off  by  the  opposing  peninsulas  of  Tiquina  and  Copacabana. 
Its  greatest  length  is  about  120  miles,  and  its  greatest  width 
between  50  arid  60  miles.     Its  mean  level  is  12,864  feet 
above  the  sea.    The  eastern  or  Bolivian  shore  is  abrupt,  the 
mountains  on  that  side  pressing  down  boldly  into  the  water. 
The  western  and  southern  shores,  however,  are  relatively 
low  and  level,  the  water  shallow  and  grown  up  with  weeds 
and  rushes,  among  which  myriads  of  water-fowls  find  shel- 
ter and  support. 

2.  The  lake  never  freezes  over,  but  ice  forms  near  its 
shores  and  where  the  water  is  shallow.     In  fact,  it  exercises 
a  very  important  influence  on  the  climate  of  .this  high, 
cold,  and  desolate  region.     Its  waters,  at  least  during  the 
winter  months,  are  from  10°  to  12°  of  Fahrenheit  warmer 
than   the   atmosphere.      The  islands   and   peninsulas   feel 
this  influence  most  perceptibly,  and  I  found  barley,  pease, 
and   maize,  the   latter,  however,  small   and   not   prolific, 
ripening  on  these,  while  they  did  not  mature  on  what  may 
be  called  the  main  land.     The  prevailing  winds  are  from 


64  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

the  northeast,  and  they  often  blow  with  great  force,  ren- 
dering navigation  on  the  frail  balsas  always  slow  and  diffi- 
cult, and  exceedingly  dangerous. 

t3.  Now,  sailing  in  a  balsa  is  by  no  means  the  perfection 
of  navigation,  nor  is  the  craft  itself  one  likely  to  inspire 
high  confidence.  It  is  simply  a  float  or  raft  made  up  of  a 
bundle  of  reeds  tied  together  fagot-like,  in  the  middle  of 
which  the  voyager  poises  himself  on  his  knees,  while  the 
Indian  manneros  stand  one  at  each  extremity,  where  they 
spread  their  feet  apart,  and  with  small  and  rather  crooked 


Viefio  of  Lake  Titicaca. 

poles  for  oars  strike  the  water  right  and  left,  and  then 
slowly  and  laboriously  propel  the  balsa  in  the  required 
direction. 

4.   Of  course  this  action  gives  the  craft  a  rocking,  roll- 


RIVERS  AND  LAKES.  65 

ing  motion,  and  makes  the  passenger  feel  very  much  as  if 
he  were  afloat  on  a  mammoth  cigar,  predisposed  to  turn 
over  on  the  slightest  pretext.  Then  if  the  water  be  a  little 
rough,  a  movement  takes  place  which  probably  is  unequaled 
in  bringing  on  the  unpleasant  sensation  of  seasickness. 
Some  of  the  balsas,  however,  are  large,  with  sides  built  up 
for  guards,  which  can  be  rigged  with  a  sail  for  running  be- 
fore the  wind,  and  are  capable  of  carrying  as  many  as  sixty 
people. 

5.  The  largest  island  is  that  of  Titicaca.    It  is  high  and 
bare,  ragged  in  outline  as  rugged  in  surface,  six  miles  long 
by  between  three  and  four  in  width.     This  is  the  sacred 
island  of  Peru.     To  it  the  Incas  traced  their  origin,  and  to 
this  day  it  is  held  by  their  descendants  in  profound  rever- 
ence.    Upon  this  island,  the  traditional  birthplace  of  the 
Incas,  are  still  the  remains  of  a  temple  of  the  Sun,  a  con- 
vent of  priests,  a  royal  palace,  and  other  vestiges  of  Inca 
civilization.     Not  far  distant  is  the  island  of  Ooati,  which 
was  sacred  to  the  Moon,  the  wife  and  sister  of  the  Sun,  on 
which  stand  the  famous  Virgins  of  the  Sun,  built  around 
two  shrines  dedicated  to  the  Sun  and  Moon  respectively, 
and  which  is  one  of  the  best  preserved,  as  well  as  one  of 
the  most  remarkable,  remains  of  aboriginal  architecture  on 
this  continent.     The  island  of  Soto  was  the  Isle  of  Peni- 
tence, to  which  the  Incas  of  the  ruling  race  were  wont  to 
resort  for  fasting  and  humiliation,  and  it  has  also  remains 
of  ancient  architecture. 

6.  At  almost  the  very  northern  end  of  the  island,  and 
at  its  most  repulsive  and  unpromising  part,  where  there  are 
no  inhabitants  or  traces  of  culture,  where  the  soil  is  rocky 
and  bare  and  the  cliffs  ragged  and  broken,  high  up  where 
the  eye  ranges  over  the  broad  blue  waters  from  one  moun- 
tain barrier  to  the  other,  from  the  glittering  crests  of  the  An- 
des to  those  of  the  Cordilleras — is  the  spot  the  most  cele- 
brated and  most  sacred  of  Peru.    Here  is  the  rock  on  which 


66  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

it  was  believed  no  bird  would  light  or  animal  venture,  on 
which  no  human  being  dared  to  place  his  foot,  whence  the 
sun  rose  to  dispel  the  primal  vapors  and  illume  the  world; 
which  was  plated  all  over  with  gold  and  silver,  and  covered, 
except  on  occasions  of  the  most  solemn  festivities,  with  a 
veil  of  cloth  of  the  richest  color  and  material,  which  shel- 
tered the  favorite  children  of  the  Sun,  and  the  pontiff, 
priest,  and  king  who  founded  the  Inca  opposite. 

7.  Our  guides  stopped  when  it  came  in  view,  removed 
their  hats  and  bowed  low  and  reverently  in  its  direction, 
muttering  a  few  words  of  mystic  import.     But  this  rock 
to-day  is  nothing  more  than  a  frayed  and  weather-worn 
mass  of  red  sandstone,  part  of  a  thick  stratum  that  runs 
through  the  island,  and  which  is  here  disrupted  and  stand- 
ing, with  its  associated  shale  and  limestone  layers,  at  an 
angle,  of  45°  with  the  horizon.     The  part  uncovered  and 
protruding  above  the  ground  is  about  225  feet  long  and  25 
feet  high.     It  presents  a  rough  and  broken  and  slightly 
projecting  face,  but  behind  subsides  in  a  slope  coinciding 
with  the  declivity  of  the  eminence  of  which  it  is  a  part. 
In  the  face  are  many  shelves  and  pockets,  all  apparently 
natural.     Excepting  that  there  are  traces  of  walls  around 
it  of  cut  stone,  and  that  the  ground  in  front  is  artificially 
leveled,  there  is  nothing  to  distinguish  it  from  many  other 
projections  of  the  sandstone  strata  on  the  island  and  the 
main  land. 

8.  To  the  front  and  northward  of  the  sacred  rock,  and 
distant  about  200  paces,  are  the  ruins  of  a  large  edifice 
called  La  Chingana,  or  the  Labyrinth.     It  is  situated  on 
the  slope  descending  to  the  little  bay  of  Chucaripe,  at  a 
point  where  the  ground  falls  off  very  abruptly,  so  that  the 
lower  walls  must  have  been  twice  or  three  times  as  high  as 
those  on  its  upper  side.      Its  leading  feature  is  a  small 
court,  with  terraces  cut  in  the  rock,  and  with  a  fountain 
in  its  center.     The  rocks  facing  inward  on  the  court  are 


RIVERS  AND  LAKES.  67 

all  niched,  and  on  each  side  are  masses  of  buildings,  which 
have  evidently  been  two  or  three  stories  in  height. 

9.  The  passages  leading  to  the  various  rooms  were  nar- 
row and  intricate,  the  doorways  low,  and  the  rooms  them- 
selves small  and  dark,  almost  precluding  the  notion  that 
they  were  intended  to  be  inhabited.     From  its  proximity 
to  the  rock,  and  the  identity  of  the  leading  features  with 
those  of  other  structures  of  Peru  of  known  purpose,  I  am 
inclined  to  regard  the  C king  ana  as  one  of  the  Aclahuasas, 
or  Houses  of  the  Virgins  of  the  Sun,  one  of  which  existed 
on  the  island,  and  I  found  no  other  building  that  could 
have  served  as  a  retreat  for  the  vestals. 

10.  The  crest  or  central  ridge  of   the  island  is  2,000 
feet  above  the  lake,  and  from  it  spurs  extend  downward 
to  the  water's  edge,  dividing  the  shore  into  numerous  beau- 
tiful little  valleys,  each  with  its  own  little  landlocked  bay. 
Midway  down  the  sloping  valley,  amid  terraces  geometri- 
cally laid  out  and  supported  by  walls  of  cut  stone,  niched 
according  to  Inca  taste,  forming  three  sides  of  a  quadran- 
gle, is  a  pool  40  feet  long,  10  wide,  and  5  deep,  paved 
with  worked  stones.      Into  this  pour  four  jets  of  water, 
each  of  the  size  of  a  man's  arm,  from  openings  cut  in  the 
stones  behind.     Over  the  walls  around  it  droop  the  tendrils 
of  vines  and  the  stems  of  plants  that  are  slowly  yielding  to 
the  frost,  and  what  with  odors  and  tinkle  and  patter  of 
waters,  one  might  imagine  himself  in  the  court  of  the  Al- 
hambra,  where  the  fountains  murmur  of  the  Moors,  just  as 
the  bath  of  the  Inca  tells  its  inarticulate  tale  of  a  race  de- 
parted, and  to  whose  taste  and  poetry  it  bears  melodious 
witness. 

11.  The   water   comes   through   subterranean   passages 
from  sources  now  unknown,  and  never  diminishes  in  vol- 
ume.    It  flows  to-day  as  freely  as  when  the  Incas  resorted 
here  and  cut  the  steep  hill-sides  into  terraces,  bringing  the 
earth  to  fill  them,  so  runs  the  legend,  all  the  way  from  the 

6 


68  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

Valley  of  Yucay,  or  Vale  of  Imperial  Delights,  four  hun- 
dred miles  distant.  However  this  may  be,  this  is  the  gar- 
den par  excellence  of  Callao,  testifying  equally  to  the 
taste,  enterprise,  and  skill  of  those  who  created  it  in  spite 
of  the  most  vigorous  of  climes  and  most  ungrateful  of 
soils. 

12.  The  palace  of  the  Incas  is  near  by,  standing  on  a 
natural  shelf  or  terrace  overlooking  the  lake.     Its  site  is 
beautiful.    On  either  side  are  terraces,  some  of  them  niched 
and  supporting  small  dependent  structures,  while  a  steep 
hill  behind,  which  bends  around  it  like  a  half-moon,  is  also 
terraced  in  graceful  curves,  each  defined  not  alone  by  its 
stone  facing,  but  by  a  vigorous  growth  of  the  shrub  that 
yields  the  Flor  del  Inca,  which  blossoms  here  all  the  year 
round. 

13.  The  building  is  rectangular,  51  by  44  feet,  and  two 
stories  high.     The  front  on  the  lake  is  ornamented  or  re- 
lieved on  the  lower  story  by  four  high  niches,  the  two  cen- 
tral ones  being  doorways.     On  each  side  are  three  niches, 
the  central  one  forming  a  doorway.      It  is  divided  into 
twelve  small   rooms  of   varying  sizes.      These  rooms  are 
about  13  feet  high,  their  walls  inclining  slightly  inward, 
while  their  ceiling  is  formed  by  flat  overlapping  stones,  laid 
with  great  regularity.      Every  room  has  its  niches,  some 
small  and  plain,  others  large  and  elaborate.     The  inner  as 
well  as  the  exterior  walls  were  stuccoed  with  a  fine,  tena- 
cious clay,  possibly  mixed  with  some  adhesive  substance, 
and  painted.     Some  patches  of  this  stucco  still  remain,  and 
indicate  that  the  building  was  originally  yellow,  while  the 
inner  parts  and  moldings  of  the  doorways  and  niches  were 
of  different  shades  of  red. 

14.  The  second  story  does  not  at  all  correspond  in  plan 
with  the  first.     Its  entrance  is  at  the  rear  on  a  level  with  a 
terrace  extending  back  to  the  hill,  and  spreading  out  in  a 
noble  walk  faced  with  a  niched  wall,  and  supporting  some 


RIVERS  AND  LAKES.  69 

minor  buildings  or  summer-houses  now  greatly  ruined.  It 
appears  to  have  no  direct  connection  with  the  ground-story 
by  stairs  or  otherwise.  The  rooms,  which  are  also  more  or 
less  ornamented  with  niches,  are  separated  by  walls  less 
massive  than  those  below,  and  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
roofed  with  thatch,  as  were  most  of  the  structures  of  the 
Incas. 

15.  The  central  part  of  the  front  of  the  second  story 
was  not  inclosed,  although  probably  roofed,  but  formed  an 
esplanade  22  feet  long  and  10  broad,  flanked  by  rooms 
opening  on  it.  Two  niches,  raised  just  enough  to  afford 
easy  seats,  appear  in  the  wall  at  the  back  of  the  esplanade, 
whence  may  be  commanded  one  of  the  finest  and  most  ex- 
tensive views  in  the  world.  The  waves  of  the  lake  break 
at  your  very  feet.  To  the  right  is  the  high  and  diversified 
peninsula  of  Copacabana  ;  in  the  center  of  the  view  the 
island  of  Coati,  consecrated  to  the  Moon,  as  was  Titicaca 
to  the  Sun,  and  to  the  right  the  gleaming  Sorata,  its  white 
mantles  reflected  in  the  waters  that  spread  out  like  a  sea  in 
front.  The  design  of  the  esplanade  is  too  obvious  to  admit 
of  doubt,  and  indicates  that  the  builders  were  not  deficient 
in  taste,  or  insensible  to  the  grand  and  beautiful  in  nature. 
Tradition  assigns  the  construction  of  this  palace  to  Inca 
Yupanqui,  who  also  built  the  Temple  of  the  Moon,  and  the 
convent  of  the  virgins,  dedicated  to  her  service  in  the  island 
of  Coati.  He  built  it,  so  runs  the  legend,  that  during  his 
visit  he  might  always  have  before  him  the  seat  and  shrine 
of  the  Suti-coya,  the  sister  and  wife  of  his  parent  the  Sun. 

E.  O.  Squier. 


PART  V. 
THE  ATMOSPHERE,   WINDS,  AND  STORMS. 


THE    ATMOSPHERE. 

1.  IT  is  impossible  to  contemplate  the  wonderful  prop- 
erties of   the  atmosphere  without  a  feeling  of  profound 
amazement.     Whether  we  regard  it  as  the  grand  medium 
of  water  circulation,  through  which  rivers  of  vapor  lifted 
from  the  oceans  are  carried  landward,  to  be  condensed  and 
channel  their  way  back  again  to  the  sea ;  or  as  the  scene 
of  tumultuous   storms,   generating  the   lightnings  within 
its  bosom,  and  taking  voice  in  the  reverberating  thunders  ; 
whether  as  hanging  the  landscape  with  gorgeous  cloud- 
pictures,  or  as  the  vehicle  through  which  all  melody  and 
beauty  and  fragrance  are  conveyed  to  the  portals  of  sense 
— it  is  alike  strange  and  interesting. 

2.  But  when  we  glance  at  its  deeper  mysteries,  those 
intimate  relations  to  life  which  have  been  disclosed  to  mod- 
f5rn  science  ;  when  we  consider  that  the  vegetable  kingdom 
not  only  has  the  same  chemical  composition  as  the  air,  but 
in  its  mass  is  actually  derived  from  it ;  that  the  whole 
architecture   and  physiology  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  plants 
are  conformed  to  atmospheric  nutrition,  so  that  in  literal 
truth  the  forests  are  but  embodied  and  solidified  air — the 
subject  rises  to  a  still  higher  interest. 

3.  And  more  startling  yet  is  the  surprise  when  we  roc- 


THE  ATMOSPHERE,    WINDS,   AND  STORMS.       71 

ollect  not  only  that  the  materials  of  our  own  bodily  struct- 
ures, derived  from  vegetation,  have  the  same  atmospheric 
origin,  but  that  active  life,  the  vital  union  of  body  and 
spirit,  and  all  the  powers  and  susceptibilities  of  our  earthly 
being,  are  only  maintained  by  the  action  of  air  in  our  sys- 
tems— air  which  we  inhale  incessantly,  day  and  night,  from 
birth  to  death.  There  is  an  awful  life-import  in  these 
never-ceasing  rhythmic  movements  of  inspiration  and  ex- 
piration, this  tidal  flux  and  reflux  of  the  gaseous  ocean 
through  animal  mechanisms.  Shall  we  question  that  it  is 
for  an  exalted  purpose  ?  Science  has  many  things  to  say 
of  the  relations  of  air  to  life,  but  it  can  add  nothing  to  the 
simple  grandeur  of  the  primeval  statement  that  the  Creator 
"breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and  man  be- 
came a  living  soul." 

E.  L.    Youmans. 


A  TORNADO    IN    OHIO. 

1.  I  HAD  left  the  village  of  Shawaney,  situated  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio,  on  my  return  from  Henderson,  which 
is  also  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  same  beautiful  stream. 
The  weather  was  pleasant,  and  I  thought  not  warmer  than 
usual  at  that  season.  My  horse  was  jogging  quietly  along, 
and  my  thoughts  were,  for  once  at  least  in  the  course  of  my 
life,  entirely  engaged  in  commercial  speculations.  I  had 
forded  Highland  Creek,  and  was  on  the  eve  of  entering  a 
tract  of  bottom  land  or  valley  that  lay  between  it  and  Canoe 
Creek,  when  on  a  sudden  I  remarked  a  great  difference  in 
the  aspect  of  the  heavens.  A  hazy  thickness  had  over- 
spread the  country,  and  I  for  some  time  expected  an  earth- 
quake, but  my  horse  exhibited  no  propensity  to  stop  and 
prepare  for  such  an  occurrence.  I  had  nearly  arrived  at 
the  verge  of  the  valley,  when  I  thought  fit  to  stop  near  a 


72  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

brook,  and  dismounted  to  quench  the  thirst  which  had 
come  upon  me. 

2.  I  was  leaning  on  my  knees,  with  my  lips  about  to 
touch  the  water,  when  from  my  proximity  to   the  earta 
I  heard  a  distant  murmuring  sound  of  an  extraordinary 
nature.     I  drank,  however,  and,  as  I  rose  on  my  feet,  looked 
toward  the  southwest,  when  I  observed  a  yellowish  oval 
spot,  the  appearance  of  which  was  quite  new  to  me.     Little 
time  was  left  me  for  consideration,  as  the  next  moment  a 
smart  breeze  began  to  agitate  the  taller  trees.     It  increased 
to  an  unexpected  height,  and  already  the  smaller  branches 
and  twigs  were  seen  falling  in  a  slanting  direction  toward 
the  ground.     Two  minutes  had  scarcely  elapsed  when  the 
whole  forest  before  me  was  in  fearful  motion.     Here  and 
there,  where  one  tree  pressed  against  another,  a  creaking 
noise  was  produced,  similar  to  that  occasioned  by  the  vio- 
lent gusts  which  sometimes  sweep  over  the  country. 

3.  Turning   instinctively   toward    the    direction   from 
which  the  wind  blew,  I  saw,  to  my  great  astonishment, 
that  the  noblest  trees  of  the  forest  bent  their  lofty  heads 
for  a  while,  and,  unable  to  stand  against  the  blast,  were  fall- 
ing to  pieces.     First  the  branches  were  broken  off  with  a 
crackling  noise,  then  went  the  upper  part  of  the  massy 
trunks,  and  in  many  places  whole  trees  of  gigantic  size  were 
falling  entire  to  the  ground.     So  rapid  was  the  progress  of 
the  storm  that,  before  I  could  think  of  taking  measures  to 
insure  my  safety,  the  tornado  was  passing  opposite  the  place 
where  I  stood.     Never  can  I  forget  the  scene  which  at  that 
moment  presented  itself.     The  tops  of  the  trees  were  seen 
moving  in  the  strangest  manner,  in  the  central  current  of 
the  tempest,  which  carried  along  with  it  a  mangled  mass 
of  twigs  and  foliage  that  completely  obscured  the  view. 

4.  Some  of  the  largest  trees  were   seen   bending  and 
writhing  under  the  gale  ;  others  suddenly  snapped  across, 
and  many,  after  a  momentary  resistance,  fell  uprooted  to 


THE  ATMOSPHERE,    WINDS,   AND  STORMS.       73 

the  earth.  The  mass  of  branches,  twigs,  foliage,  and  dust 
that  moved  through  the  air,  was  whirled  onward  like  a 
cloud  of  feathers,  and,  on  passing,  disclosed  a  wide  space 
filled  with  fallen  trees,  naked  stumps,  and  heaps  of  shape- 
less ruins,  which  marked  the  path  of  the  tempest.  This 
space  was  about  a  fourth  of  a  mile  in  breadth,  and  to  my 
imagination  resembled  the  dried-up  bed  of  the  Mississippi, 
with  its  thousands  of  planters  and  sawyers  strewed  in  the 
sand,  and  inclined  in  various  degrees.  The  horrible  noise 
resembled  that  of  the  groat  cataracts  of  Niagara,  and,  as  it 
howled  along  in  the  track  of  the  desolating  tempest,  pro- 
duced a  feeling  in  my  mind  which  it  is  impossible  to  de- 
scribe. 

5.  The  principal  force  of  the  tornado  was  now  over,  al- 
though millions  of  twigs  and  small  branches,  that  had  been 
brought  from  a  great  distance,  were  seen  following  the  blast, 
as  if  drawn  onward  by  some  mysterious  power.     They  were 
floated  in  the  air  for  some  hours  after,  as  if  supported  by 
the  thick  mass  of  dust  that  rose  high  atfove  the  ground. 
The  sky  had  now  a  greenish-lurid  hue,  and  an  extremely 
disagreeable  sulphureous  odor  was  diffused  in  the  atmos- 
phere.    I  waited  in  amazement,  having  sustained  no  mate- 
rial injury,  until  Nature  at  length  resumed  her  wonted 
aspect. 

6.  Many  wondrous  accounts  of  the  devastating  effect  of 
this  tornado  were  circulated  in  the  country  after  its  occur- 
rence.     Some  log-houses,  we  were  told,  had  been  over- 
turned, and  their  inmates  destroyed.     One  person  informed 
me  that  a  wire-sifter  had  been  conveyed  by  the  gust  to  a 
distance  of  many  miles.     Another  had  found  a  cow  lodged 
in  the  fork  of  a  large,  half-broken  tree.     But,  as  I  am  dis- 
posed to  relate  only  what  I  have  myself  seen,  I  will  not  lead 
you  into  the  region  of  romance,  but  shall  content  myself  by 
saying  that  much  damage  was  done  by  this  awful  visitation. 

7.  The  valley  is  yet  a  desolate  place,  overgrown  with 


74  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

briers  and  bushes,  thickly  entangled  amid  the  tops  and 
trunks  of  the  fallen  trees,  and  is  the  resort  of  ravenous  ani- 
mals, to  which  they  betake  themselves  when  pursued  by 
man,  or  after  they  have  committed  their  depredations  on 
the  farms  of  the  surrounding  district.  I  have  crossed  the 
path  of  the  storm  at  a  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  from  the 
spot  where  I  witnessed  its  fury,  and  again,  four  hundred 
miles  farther  off,  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  Lastly,  I  observed 
traces  of  its  ravages  on  the  summits  of  the  mountains  con- 
nected with  the  great  pine  forests  of  Pennsylvania,  three 
hundred  miles  beyond  the  place  last  mentioned.  In  all 
those  different  parts  it  appeared  to  me  not  to  have  exceeded 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  breadth. 

Audubon. 


THE    CLOUDS. 

I  BRING  fresh  showers  for  the  thirsting  flowers, 

From  the  seas  and  the  streams  ; 
I  bear  light  shade  for  the  leaves  when  laid 

In  their  noon-day  dreams  ; 
From  my  wings  are  shaken  the  dews  that  waken 

The  sweet  buds  every  one, 
When  rocked  to  rest  on  their  mother's  breast, 

As  she  dances  about  the  sun. 
I  wield  the  flail  of  the  lashing  hail, 

And  whiten  the  green  plains  under, 
And  then  again  I  dissolve  it  in  rain, 

And  laugh  as  I  pass  in  thunder. 

I  sift  the  snow  on  the  mountains  below, 
And  their  great  pines  groan  aghast ; 

And  all  the  night  'tis  my  pillow  white, 
While  I  sleep  in  the  arms  of  the  blast. 


THE  ATMOSPHERE,    WINDS,    AND  STORMS.       75 

Sublime  on  the  towers  of  my  skyey  bowers, 

Lightning  my  pilot  sits, 
In  a  cavern  under  is  fettered  the  thunder, 

It  struggles  and  howls  by  fits  ; 


Forms  and  Transitions  of  Water. 

Over  earth  and  ocean,  with  gentle  motion. 
This  pilot  is  guiding  me, 


76  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

Lured  by  the  love  of  the  genii  that  move 

In  the  depths  of  the  purple  sea  ; 
Over  the  rills  and  the  crags  and  the  hills, 

Over  the  lakes  and  the  plains, 
Wherever  he  dream,  under  mountain  or  stream, 

The  spirit  he  loves  remains  ; 
And  I  all  the  while  bask  in  heaven's  blue  smik , 

Whilst  he  is  dissolving  in  rains. 

3.  The  sanguine  sunrise,  with  his  meteor  eyes, 

And  his  burning  plumes  outspread, 
Leaps  on  the  back  of  my  sailing  rack, 

When  the  morning  star  shines  dead. 
As  on  the  jag  of  a  mountain  crag, 

Which  an  earthquake  rocks  and  swings, 
An  eagle  alit  one  moment  may  sit 

In  the  light  of  its  golden  wings. 
And  when  sunset  may  breathe,  from  the  lit  sea  beneath, 

Its  ardors  of  rest  and  love, 
And  the  crimson  pall  of  eve  may  fall 

From  the  depth  of  heaven  above, 
With  wings  folded  I  rest,  on  mine  airy  nest, 

As  still  as  a  brooding  dov.e. 


I  bind  the  sun's  throne  with  the  burning  zone, 

And  the  moon's  with  a  girdle  of  pearl ; 
The  volcanoes  are  dim,  and  the  stars  reel  and  swim, 

When  the  whirlwinds  my  banner  unfurl. 
From  cape  to  cape,  with  a  bridge-like  shape 

Over  a  torrent  sea, 
Sunbeam  proof,  I  hang  like  a  roof, 

The  mountains  its  columns  be. 
The  triumphal  arch,  through  which  I  march.; 

With  hurricane,  fire,  and  snow. 


THE  ATMOSPHERE,    WINDS,  AND  STORMS.       77 

Wlien  the  powers  of  the  air  are  chained  to  my  chair, 

Is  the  million-colored  bow  ; 
The  sphere-fire  above  its  soft  colors  wove, 

Whilst  the  moist  earth  was  laughing  below. 

SMley 


THE    HARMATTAN. 

1.  THIS  is  the  name  given  to  a  wind  which,  passing 
over  Africa,  takes  up  in  its  sweep,  as  is  believed,  an  im- 
palpable dust,  and  carries   it  far   away  to  the  westward. 
Strange  stories  are  told  of  the  effects  of  the  harmattan, 
which  is  said  to  check  or  cure  various  diseases,  heal  up 
most  inveterate  ulcers,  destroy  cabinet-work,  break  window- 
glass,  and  stop  the  motions  of  a  clock  or  a  chronometer. 
The  effects  of  this  wind  are  sufficiently  remarkable  in  re- 
ality, without  the  aid  of  imagination  to  exaggerate  them. 
They  bear  some  resemblance  to  those  of  the  sirocco  of  the 
African  desert,  and  of  the  levanter  of  the  Grecian  Archi- 
pelago. 

2.  The  harmattan  begins  about  the  middle  of  December 
and  continues  until  the  latter  end  of  March.     Like  the 
sirocco,  it  has  been  supposed  to  take  its  rise  in  the  des- 
erts of  Africa  ;   but,  unlike  the  sirocco,  instead  of  being 
hot  and  oppressive,  it  is  a  chilling  wind.     Its  direction 
is  always  from  the  land,  and  it  sometimes  increases  to  a 
strong  breeze ;  it  does  not,  however,  blow  steadily  during 
the  season,  but  frequently  intermits  when   land-  or  sea- 
breezes  take  place. 

3.  At  the  Cape  Verd  and  the  Gambia  the  harmattan 
appears  to  form  a  junction  with  the  northeast  trades  pre- 
vailing there  at  a  certain  season,  and  to  blow  with  little 
interruption  from  January  until  April. 


T3  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

4.  It  is  supposed  by  some  that  this  wind,  in  passing  over 
the  deserts  and  lands  of  Africa,  takes  up  a  quantity  of  sand 
and  dust  sufficient  to  form  a  floating  mass,  producing  an 
atmosphere  so  hazy  as  frequently  to  obscure  the  sun  and 
prevent  the  sight  of  the  land  at  the  distance  of  only  five 
miles.     At  the  season  of  the  harmattan,  the  peculiar  at- 
mosphere which  accompanies  it  may  be  always  observed  at 
the  Cape  Verd  Islands,  four  hundred  miles  from  the  con- 
tinent,  and  is   always  settling  in  quantities   sufficient  to 
cover  the  sails,  rigging,  and  deck  of  a  ship.     It  is  also  re- 
ported to  have  been  met  with  seven  hundred  miles  farther 
westward. 

5.  The  dust  of  the  harmattan  has  been  examined  by  the 
microscope  in  the  hands  of  the  celebrated  investigator,  Eh- 
renberg,  who  found  that  it  was  composed  of  infusoria  and 
organisms  which  belong  not  to  Africa,  but  to  the  south- 
east trade  region  of  South  America.     It  is,  therefore,  con- 
jectured that  the  southeast  trades  may  have  brought  the 
dust,  great  as  is  the  distance,  from  South  America. 

Robert  Tomes. 


COLORED   RAIN    AND    SNOW. 

1.  IT  has  been  related  by  Swammerdam  that  early  one 
morning  in  the  year  1G70  the  whole  population  of  the 
Hague  was  in  an  uproar.  It  was  soon  discovered  that  the 
commotion  arose  from  a  mysterious  rain  of  blood,  as  it  was 
considered  by  all.  The  rain  must  have  fallen  during  the 
night  hours,  for  the  lakes  and  ditches  were  known  to  have 
been  full  of  water  on  the  preceding  evening.  People  of 
all  classes,  high  and  low,  were  affected  by  this  apparent 
miraculous  act  of  Providence,  foretelling  scenes  of  approach- 
ing war  and  bloodshed. 


THE  ATMOSPHERE,    WINDS,   AND  STORMS.       79 

2.  There  happened,  however,  to  be  a  certain  physician 
in  the  town,  whose  scientific  curiosity  urged  him  to  inquire 
into  the  cause  of  this  wonderful  phenomenon.    He  obtained 
some  of  the  water  from  one  of  the  canals,  analyzed  it  with 
a  microscope,  and  found  that  it  really  changed  color,  but 
that  the  blood-like  red  was  produced  by  swarms  of  small 
red  animals  or  insects  of  perfect  organization  and  in  full 
activity. 

3.  This  scientific  physician  immediately  announced  the 
result  of  his  examination  of  the  water  ;  but,  though  the 
Hollanders  were  convinced  of  the  accuracy  of  his  discovery, 
they  did  not  appear  to  be  anxious  to  divest  the  occurrence 
of  prophetic  character.     On  the  contrary,  they  concluded 
that  the  sudden  appearance  of  such  an  innumerable  host  of 
red  insects  was  as  great  a  miracle  as  the  raining  of  actual 
blood  would  have  been  ;  and  in  after-years  there  were  many 
who  believed  this  phenomenon  to  have  been  a  prediction 
of  the  war   and    desolation   which   Louis   XIV  afterward 
brought  into  that  country. 

4.  Something  analogous  to  this  came  under  the  eye  of 
the  writer  a  few  years  ago.     During  a  very  gloomy  rain 
which  fell  at  Greenwich,  a  universal  deposit  of  small  black 
flies  was  found  to  have  taken  place.     The  plants  and  shrubs 
in  the  writer's  garden  were  covered  by  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  these  insects,  in  some  instances  completely  hiding 
the  plant  from  view.     Before  the  rain  began  not  one  was 
noticed.     We  have  been  lately  informed  that  a  similar  de- 
posit occurred  at  Cambridge  about  eleven  years  ago. 

5.  On  the  14th  of  March,  1813,  the  inhabitants  of  Gc- 
race,  Calabria,  perceived  a   terrific  cloud  advancing  from 
the  sea,  the  wind  having  blown  from  that  direction  during 
the  two  preceding  days.     At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
this  dense  cloud,  which  gradually  changed  from  a  pale  to  a 
fiery  red,  totally  intercepted  the  light  of  the  sun.     Shortly 
after,  the  town  was  enveloped  in  darkness  sufficiently  great 


80  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

to  excite  timid  people,  who  rushed  to  the  cathedral,  thinking 
that  the  end  of  the  world  was  approaching. 

6.  The  appearance  of  the  heavens  at  this  moment  was 
unspeakably  grand,  the   fiery  red  cloud  increasing  in  in- 
tensity.   Then,  amid  terrific  peals  of  thunder,  accompanied 
by  vivid  flashes  of  lightning,  large  drops  of  red  rain  fell, 
which  were  hastily  assumed  by  the  excited  populace  to  be 
either  drops  of  blood  or  fire.     The  rain,  more  or  less  col- 
ored, continued  to  fall  until  the  evening,  when  the  clouds 
dispersed,  and  the  people  were  again  restored  to  their  ordi- 
nary tranquillity. 

7.  There  are  several  other  records  of  red  rain,  with  simi- 
lar phenomena  to  what  we  have  already  described,  but  it  is 
not  necessary  to  enter  into  any  detail,  though  it  is  very  pos- 
sible that  their  origin  can  not  always  be  traced  to  the  same 
source.     In  most  cases  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  the 
extremely  light  particles  of  which  the  powder  is  composed 
is  carried  into  the  upper  currents  of  the  atmosphere,  either 
by  volcanic  action,  as  we  have  before  suggested,  or  by  a 
violent  whirlwind.     The  separate  particles  are  then  drifted 
forward  until  the  upper  current  of  air,  with  which  they  are 
now  amalgamated,  comes  into  contact  with  other  currents 
of  lower  temperature,  when  they  fall  to  the  earth,  with  the 
condensed  vapor,  in  the  form  of  colored  rain. 

8.  The  Crimson  Cliffs  near  Cape  York,  Baffin's  Bay, 
discovered  by  Captain  Eoss  during  his  first  voyage  to  the 
Arctic  regions,  in  1818,  excited  considerable  attention  on 
the  return  of  the  expedition  to  England.     The  coloring 
matter  of  the  snow  taken  from  these  crimson  cliffs  being 
placed  by  Captain  Eoss  under  a  microscope,  was  found  "to 
consist  of  particles  like  a  very  minute  round  seed,  which 
were  exactly  the  same  size,  and  of  a  deep-red  color ;  on 
some  of  the  particles  a  small  dark  speck  was  also  seen. 

9.  "  The  red  matter  I  am  strongly  inclined  to  regard  as 
of  vegetable  origin,  consisting  of  minute  globules,  one  thou- 


THE  ATMOSPHERE,    WINDS,   AND  STORMS.       81 

sandth  to  three  thousandths  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  I  be- 
lieve their  coat  to  be  colorless,  and  the  redness  belongs 
wholly  to  the  contents,  which  seem  to  be  of  an  oily  nature 
and  not  soluble  in  water.  If  they  are  from  the  sea,  there 
seems  no  limit  to  the  quantity  that  may  be  carried  to  land 
by  a  continued  and  violent  wind — no  limit  to  the  period 
during  which  they  may  have  accumulated,  since  they  would 
remain  from  year  to  year,  undiminished  by  the  processes  of 
thawing  and  evaporation  which  remove  the  snow  with  which 
they  are  mixed." 

Dunkin. 


PART  VI. 
CLIMATE  AND  VEGETATION. 


CONTRASTS    OF   CLIMATE  AND   VEGETATION. 

1.  THE  climate  of  the  New  World,  compared  with  that 
of  the  Old,  is  distinguished  by  its  greater  humidity.     We 
have  seen  in  what  manner  this  phenomenon  is  the  conse- 
quence of  its  narrow  and  lengthened  form  ;  of  the  opening 
of  the  great  plains — that  is,  of  the  two  continents  almost 
entire — to  the  winds  of  the  sea ;  of  the  absence  of  high 
mountains  in  the  East ;  in  a  word,  of  the  configuration  and 
general  exposure  of  this  part  of  the  globe.     While  the  Old 
World,  with  its  compact  figure,  its  vast  plateaus,  its  high 
lands  in  the  east,  receives  only  an  average  of  seventy-seven 
inches  of  water  by  the  year  under  the  tropics,  America  re- 
ceives one  hundred  and  fifteen  inches.     The  temperate  re- 
gions of  Europe  have  thirty-four  inches ;  North  America, 
thirty-nine  inches. 

2.  Thus,  the  watery  element  reigns  in  the  New  World  ; 
add  to  this  that  half  of  its  lands  are  exposed  to  the  rays  of 
the  tropical  sun,  but  that,  all  the  conditions  being  equal, 
America  is,  on  the  whole,  a  little  less  warm  than  the  Old 
World,  and  we  shall  have  the  essential  features  of  its  cli- 
mate.    The  oceanic  climate — this  is  what  America  owes  to 
the  fundamental  forms  and  the  relative  disposition  of  its 


CLIMATE  AND    VEGETATION.  83 

lands  ;  while  the  Old  World  is  indebted  to  it  for  the  pre- 
ponderance of  the  dry  and  continental  climate. 

3.  The  warm  and  the  moist — these  are  the  most  favor- 
able conditions  for  the  production  of  an  exuberant  vegeta- 
tion.    Now,  the  vegetable  covering  is  nowhere  so  general, 
the  vegetation  so  predominant,  as  in  the  two  Americas. 
Behold,  under  the  same  parallel,   where   Africa  presents 
only  parched  table-lands,  those  boundless  virgin  forests  of 
the  basin  of  the  Amazon,  those  selvas,  almost  unbroken, 
over  a  length  of  more,  than  fifteen  hundred  miles,  forming 
the  most  gigantic  wilderness  of  this  kind  that  exists  in  any 
continent. 

4.  And  what  vigor,  what  luxuriance  of  vegetation  !    The 
palm-trees,  with  their  slender  forms,  calling  to  mind  that 
of  America  itself,  boldly  uplift  their  heads  one  hundred 
and  fifty  or  two  hundred  feet  above  the  ground,  and  domi- 
neer over  all  the  other  trees  of  these  wilds  by  their  height, 
by  their  number,  and  by  the  majesty  of  their  foliage.     In- 
numerable shrubs  and  trees  of  smaller  height  fill  up  the 
space  that  separates  their  trunks  ;  climbing  plants,  woody- 
stemmed,  twining  llanos,  infinitely  varied,  surround  them 
both  with  their  flexible  branches,  display  their  own  flowers 
upon  the  foliage,  and  combine  them  in  a  solid  mass  of  vege- 
tation impenetrable  to  man,  which  the  axe  alone  can  break 
through  with  success:     On  the  bosom  of  their  peaceful 
waters  swims  the  Victoria,  the  elegant  rival  of  the  Rafflesia, 
that  odorous  and  gigantic  water-lily,  whose  white  and  rosy 
corolla,  fifteen  inches  in  diameter,  rises  with  dazzling  bril- 
liancy from  the  midst  of  a  train  of  immense  leaves  softly 
spread  upon  the  waves,  a  single  one  covering  a  space  of  six 
feet  in  width.     The  rivers  rolling  their  tranquil  waters  un- 
der verdurous  domes  in  the  bosom  of  these  boundless  wilds 
are  the  only  paths  Nature  has  opened  to  the  scattered  in- 
habitants of  these  rich  solitudes. 

5.  Elsewhere,  in  Mexico  and  Yucatan,  an  invading  vege- 

7 


84  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

tation  permits  not  even  the  works  of  man  to  endure  ;  and 
the  monuments  of  a  civilization  comparatively  ancient, 
which  the  antiquary  goes  to  investigate  with  care,  are  soon 
changed  into  a  mountain  of  verdure  or  demolished,  stone 
after  stone,  by  the  plants  piercing  into  their  chinks,  vigor- 
ously pushing  aside  and  breaking  with  irresistible  force 
all  the  obstacles  that  oppose  their  rapid  growth. 

6.  South  America,   and  particularly  the  basin  of  the 
Amazon,  is  the  true  kingdom  of  the  palm-tree ;  nowhere 
does   this   noble   form  of  vegetation  show  itself  under  a 
greater  number  of  species.     This  is  a  sign  of  the  prepon- 
derating development  of  leaves  over  every  other  part  of 
vegetable  growth  ;   of  that  expansion  of  foliage,   of  that 
leafiness   peculiar   to   warm   and  moist  climates.      Every- 
where, long  and  abundant  leaves,   an  intense  verdure,   a 
strong  and  well-nurtured  vegetation — these  are  what  we 
find  in  tropical  America. 

7.  In  the  Old  World  the  vegetation  is  less  universal, 
less  plentiful,  than  in  the  two  Americas.     Nowhere  on  its 
surface  do  we  encounter  virgin  forests  whose  extent  can  be 
compared  with  the  boundless  selvas  of  the  Amazon  ;  they 
are  found,  doubtless,  in  the  tropical  regions  of  Africa  and 
the  Indies,  but  they  are  rather  local  phenomena,  and  do 
not  give  their  character  to  vast  countries.     On  the  other 
hand,  the  Old  World  is  the  world  of  steppes  and  deserts. 
Nowhere  else  are  those  dry  and  barren  plains  so  numerous, 
so  extensive,  so  unbroken.     It  is  enough  to  mention  the 
boundless  steppes  of  Russia  and  the  Caucasus,  of  Siberia,  and 
the  Altai  of  Tartary  and  of  Turkistan,  to  recall  to  mind  the 
great  zone  of  deserts  obliquely  traversing  the  Old  World  in 
its  greatest  length,  from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  through 
Sahara,  Arabia,  Eastern  Persia,  and  Mongolia,  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  occupying  all  the  central  part  of  the  lands  of 
three  continents  united,  to  be  convinced  that  the  distinc- 
tive character  of  the  climate  of  the  Old  World  is  dryness. 


CLIMATE  AND   VEGETATION.  85 

8.  The  general  forms  and  aspect  of  the  plants  them- 
selves at  once  declare  the  parsimony  wherewith  Nature  has 
provided  for  them  the  moisture  so  essential  to  their  full 
development.     Instead  of  expanding  their  surface  for  evapo- 
ration and  absorption,  their  leaves  seem  to  fold  upon  them- 
selves, to  concentrate  themselves  into  a  smaller  volume  ; 
they  have  a  tendency  to  approach  the   linear  shape,   the 
pointed  form  we  notice  in  the  pines  ;  they  often  become 
membranous,  leathery  ;  or  the  plant  is  covered  with  a  soft 
down,  with  a  nap,  or  even  with  prickles,  which  are  only 
leaves  or  branchlets  transformed  and  hardened  under  the 
influence  of  a  dry  air. 

9.  Or,  still  further,  they  take  those  plump,  fleshy,  cy- 
lindrical forms,  which  seem  struggling  to  contain  the  great- 
est quantity  of  vegetable  matter  in  the  smallest  possible 
volume.     Such  is  the  flora  of  Southern  Africa,  with  its  sta- 
pelias,   its  juicy  mesembryanthems,  its  brilliant  aloes,  its 
delicate  mimosas,  its  metrosideri,  its  heaths  without  num- 
ber.    Such  is  that  of  Australia,  with  its  forests  of  euca- 
lypti, its  banksias,  and  its  casuarinas,  with  their  long  and 
naked,   pendent,   thread-like  branches.      Such,  moreover, 
is  the  flora  of  the  steppes  and  the  deserts  of  Arabia  and 
Gobi,  consisting  entirely  of  plants  of  a  dry  and  ligneous 
nature,  often  clothed  with  white  down,  or  of  gray  hues, 
imitating  the  color  of  the  dust  of  the  desert.     In  all  these 
countries   the   forests  are  rare,   of  small  extent,   of  little 
density  ;  the  scattered  trees  are  not  invaded  by  those  woody 
climbers  which  elsewhere  entangle  and  interweave  them, 
and  form  those  impenetrable  masses  of  verdure  which  char- 
acterize the  tropical  wilds  of  the  New  World.     Thus,  in 
the  vegetable  kingdom  of  the  Old  World  there  is  oftener  a 
scarcity,  oftener  a  sufficiency,  but  rarely  an  abundance. 

10.  Nevertheless,  because  the  vegetable  does  not  reign 
there  by  its  mass,  is  this  saying  that  it  reaches  a  less  per- 
fect organization  ?     It  is  this  dry  and  warm  climate  that 


86  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

produces  the  delicate  fruits  of  Persia  and  of  Asia  Minor, 
elaborates  those  refined  juices,  those  perfumes,  those  fine 
aromas  of  the  East,  the  fame  of  which  was  already  estab- 
lished in  the  remotest  antiquity.  These  same  regions  of 
the  Old  World  have  given  us  coffee  from  Arabia  and  tea 
from  the  uttermost  Orient,  so  precious  to  all  civilized  na- 
tions. The  East  Indies  and  their  archipelago,  as  we  have 
said,  under  the  influence  of  the  vigor  of  the  continent  and 
the  moisture  of  the  ocean,  yield  those  concentrated  prod- 
ucts, those  strong  spices,  the  nutmeg,  the  clove,  the  gin- 
ger, there  in  its  native  country  ;  the  pepper,  the  cinnamon, 
of  which  the  whole  world  makes  use.  It  is  these  same 
countries  that  present  us  the  largest  leaves  and  flowers 
known  ;  there,  also,  grows  the  banyan-tree,  the  symbol  of 
vegetable  strength ;  it  is  in  Africa  that  the  huge  baobab 
unfolds  itself — the  adansonia,  whose  trunk  sometimes  meas- 
ures twenty-five  feet  in  diameter.  But  these  are  the  prod- 
ucts of  favored  spots,  the  general  rule  of  the  Old  World 
being  economy,  not  superfluity. 

Arnold  Guyot. 


CLIMATE    OF    EUROPE    AND    AMERICA. 

1.  ENGLAND  has  a  damp  climate,  and  the  sun  shines  less 
there  than  in  most  other  countries.  But  to  persons  of  full 
habit  this  moisture  in  the  air  is  extremely  agreeable  ;  and  the 
high  condition  of  all  animals  in  England,  from  man  down- 
ward, proves  its  healthfulness.  A  stranger,  who  has  been 
accustomed  to  a  brighter  sky,  will  at  first  find  a  gloom  in 
the  gray  light  so  characteristic  of  an  English  atmosphere  ; 
but  this  soon  wears  off,  and  he  finds  a  compensation,  as 
far  as  the  eye  is  concerned,  in  the  exquisite  softness  of  the 
verdure,  and  the  deep  and  enduring  brightness  of  the  foli- 


CLIMATE  AND   VEGETATION.  87 

age.  The  effect  of  this  moisture  on  the  skin  is  singularly 
grateful.  The  pores  become  accustomed  to  a  healthy  ac- 
tion, which  is  unknown  in  other  countries  ;  and  the  bloom 
by  which  an  English  complexion  is  known  all  over  the 
world  is  the  index  of  an  activity  in  this  important  part 
of  the  system  which,  when  first  experienced,  is  almost  like  a 
new  sensation. 

2.  The  climate  of  America  is,  in  many  points,  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  of   France  and  Great  Britain.     In  the 
Middle  and  Northern  States  it  is  a  dry,  invigorating,  brac- 
ing climate,  in  which  a  strong  man  may  do  more  work 
than  in  almost  any  other,  and  which  makes  continual  ex- 
ercise, or  occupation  of  some  sort,  absolutely  necessary. 

3.  With  the  exception  of  the  "Indian  summer,"  and 
here  and  there  a  day  scattered  through  the  spring  and  the 
hot  months,  there  is  no  weather  tempered  so  finely  that 
one  would  think  of  passing  the  day  in  merely  enjoying  it, 
and  life  is  passed,  by  those  who  have  the  misfortune  to  be 
idle,  in  continual  and  active  dread  of  the  elements. 

4.  The  cold  is  so  acrid,  and  the  heat  so  sultry,  and  the 
changes  from  one  to  the  other  so  sudden  and  violent,  that 
no  enjoyment  can  be  depended  upon  out-of-doors,  and  110 
system  of  clothing  or  protection  is  good  for  a  day  together. 
He  who  has  full  occupation  for  head  and  hand  may  live  as 
long  in  America  as  in  any  portion  of  the  globe.     He  whose 
spirits  lean  upon  the  temperature  of  the  wind,  or  whose 
nerves  require  a  genial  and  constant  atmosphere,  may  find 
more  favorable  climes ;  and  the  habits  and  delicate  con- 
stitutions of  scholars  and  people  of  sedentary  pursuits  gen- 
erally in  the  United  States  prove  the  truth  of  the  observa- 
tion. 

5.  The  habit  of  regular  exercise  in  the  open  air,  which 
is  found  to  be  so  salutary  in  England,  is  scarcely  possible  in 
America.     It  is  said,  and  said  truly,  of  the  first,  that  there 
is  no  day  in  the  year  when  a  lady  may  not  ride  comfortably 


S8  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

on  horseback  ;  but  with  us  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold, 
and  the  tempestuous  character  of  our  snows  and  rains, 
totally  forbid,  to  a  delicate  person,  anything  like  regular- 
ity in  exercise.  The  co^equence  is,  that  the  habit  rarely 
exists,  and  the  high  and  glowing  health  so  common  in  Eng- 
land, and  consequent,  no  doubt,  upon  the  equable  charac- 
ter of  the  climate  in  some  measure,  is  with  us  sufficiently 
rare  to  excite  remark.  "  Very  English-looking"  is  a  com- 
mon phrase,  and  means  very  healthy-looking.  Still  our 
people  last,  and,  though  I  should  define  the  English  climate 
as  the  one  in  which  the  human  frame  is  in  the  highest 
condition,  I  should  say  of  America  that  it  is  the  one  in 
which  you  could  get  the  most  work  out  of  it. 

6.  Atmosphere,  in  England  and  America,  is  the  first  of 
the  necessaries  of  life.     In  Italy,  it  is  the  first  of  the  luxu- 
ries.     We  breathe   in  America  and  walk  abroad  without 
thinking  of  these  common  acts  but  as  a  means  of  arriving 
at  happiness.     In  Italy,  to  breathe  and  to  walk  abroad  are 
themselves  happiness.     Day  after  day,  week  after  week, 
month  after  month,  you  wake  with  the  breath  of  flowers 
coming  in  at  your  open  window,  and  a  sky  of  serene  and 
unfathomable  blue,  the  mornings  and  evenings  of  tranquil, 
assured,  heavenly  purity  and   beauty.      No  one  can  have 
lived  in  Italy  a  year  who  remembers  anything  but  the  sap- 
phire sky,   and   the   kindling   and   ever-seen   stars.     You 
grow  insensibly  to  associate  the  sunshine  and  moonlight 
only  with  the  fountain  you  have  lived  near,  or  the  columns 
of  the  temple  you  have  seen  from  your  window,  for  on  no 
objects  in  other  lands  have  you   seen   their  light  so  con- 
stant. 

7.  I  scarce  know  how  to  convey,  in  language,  the  effect 
of  the  climate  of  Italy  on  mind  and  body.     Sitting  here, 
indeed,  in  the  latitude  of  39°,  in  the  middle  of  April,  by  a 
warm  fire,  and  with  a  cold  wind  whistling  at  the  window, 
it  is  difficult  to   recall  it  even  to  the  fancy.      I  do  not 


CLIMATE  AND   VEGETATION.  89 

know  whether  life  is  prolonged,  but  it  is  infinitely  enriched 
and  brightened  by  the  delicious  atmosphere  of  Italy. 
You  rise  in  the  morning,  thanking  Heaven  for  life  and 
liberty  to  go  abroad.  There  is  a  sort  of  opiate  in  the  air, 
which  makes  idleness,  that  would  be  the  vulture  of  Prome- 
theus in  America,  the  dove  of  promise  in  Italy. 

8.  It  is  delicious  to  do  nothing,  delicious  to  stand  an 
hour  looking  at  a  Savoyard  and  his  monkey,  delicious  to 
sit  away  the  long,  silent  noon,  in  the  shade  of  a  column, 
or  on  the  grass  of  a  fountain,  delicious  to  be  with  a  friend 
without  the  interchange  of  an  idea,  to  dabble  in  a  book,  or 
look  into  the  cup  of  a  flower.     You  do  not  read,  for  you 
wish  to  enjoy  the  weather.     You  do  not  visit,  for  you  hate 
to  enter  a  door  while  the  weather  is  so  fine.     You  lie  down 
unwillingly  for  your  siesta  in  the  hot  noon,  for  you  fear 
you  may  oversleep  the  first  coolness  of  the  long  shadows  of 
sunset.     The  fancy,  meantime,  is  free,  and  seems  liberated 
by  the  same  languor  that  enervates  the  severer  faculties ; 
and  nothing   seems   fed   by  the   air  but  thoughts  which 
minister  to  enjoyment. 

9.  The  climate  of  Greece  is  very  much  like  that  of  Italy. 
The  Mediterranean  is  all  beloved  of  the  sun.     Life  has  a 
value  there,  of  which  the  rheumatic,  shivering,  snow-breast- 
ing idler  of  northern  regions  has  no  shadow  even  in  a  dream. 

N.  P.  Willis. 


VEGETATION    AT   PANAMA. 

1.  HERE  is  the  richest,  densest  vegetation  in  the  world, 
dn  impenetrable  tangle  of  mangoes,  plantains,  palms,  or- 
anges, bananas,  limes,  India-rubber  trees,  and  thousands  of 
shrubs  and  parasites  new  to  Northern  eyes.  Here  is  prime- 
val architecture,  endless  cloisters,  colonnades,  and  bowers. 


90  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

Little  vistas  of  greensward,  fragments  of  water ;  hills  and 
basaltic  cliffs  are  exceptional.  As  a  whole,  the  isthmus  is 
a  vast  jungle  of  trees,  canebrakes,  and  parasites,  gay  with 
gorgeous  flowers  and  birds  of  brilliant  plumage,  rich  with 
the  cocoa-nut,  and  sometimes  dazzling  with  the  brightness 
:>f  the  oranges. 

2.  Monkeys  and  parrots  chatter  on  the  branches  ;  wild 
beasts  hide  in  the  dingles  ;  insects  swarm  in  the  swamps  ; 
huge  reptiles  drag  their  slow  lengths  along  the  oozy  soil, 
darkened  by  thick  foliage  which  shuts  out  the  light  of  the 
rich  tropical  heavens.     From  branches  sixty  feet  high  vines 
hang  down  like  ropes,  mingling  on  the  earth  in  mazes  and 
labyrinths,  and  climbing  and  winding  up  the  huge  trunks. 
The  only  fact  of  nature  and  figure  of  rhetoric,  the  sustain- 
ing oak  and  clinging  vine,  is  reversed.     The  tree,  indeed, 
supports   the  vine,  but  is  smothered  in  the   embrace   of 
death.     The  trunks  of  some  forest  kings  resemble  huge 
pipes  of  lead,  and  even  the  stems  of  willows  are  in  sections, 
with  joints  like  corn-stalks  and  sugar-cane. 

3.  Here  are  the  rarest  combinations  of  color  and  form, 
wild  palms  with  leaves  eighteen  inches  long  yet  only  a  fin- 
ger's width  ;   immense  groves  of  cultivated  palms  heavy 
with  fruit,  countless  bananas  upon  which  the  natives  sub- 
sist, pulpy  stalks  with  leaves  the  thickness  and  texture  of 
lily-pads,  but  sword-shaped,  and  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  height ; 
birds  of  white,  black,  and  yellow  ;  flowers  of  white,  orange, 
crimson,  and  scarlet,   blazing  out  from  the  convolutions 
and  tangles  of  greenness.     All  is  profusion,  luxury,  gor- 
geousness.       "Every  prospect  pleases,   and  only  man   is 
vile." 

A.  D.  Richardson. 


PART  VII. 
MOUNTAIN  ROADS  AND  PASSES. 


THE    RIVIERA    ROAD. 

1.  THIS  road  is  built  along  the  shore  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean from  Nice  to  Genoa.       The  Romans  had  a  road  along 
this  mountain-bound  shore.     It  bore  the  imperial  name  of 
the  Aurelian  Way  ;  but  it  was  a  narrow  pass,  often  over- 
hanging the  sea,  so  narrow  as  hardly  to  admit  the  passage 
of  a  single  horse.     Now,  by  the  energy  of  the  French  Gov- 
ernment,  which  began  and  finished  about  three  fifths  of 
the  enlarged  road,  followed  by  the  persevering  efforts  of  the 
Sardinian  Government,  a  broad  and  excellent  carriage-way 
has  been  completed  in  regions  where,  if  we  look  to  the 
right  or  left,  below  or  above,  it  seems  impossible  much  of 
the  way  to  find  a  foothold.    The  Maritime  Alps  rise  to  the 
height  of  several  thousand  feet,  and  descend  often  in  nearly 
vertical  precipices.      In  the  sides  of  these  mountains  the 
road  is  excavated  by  blasting  the  solid  rocks. 

2.  A  mountain  impends  above  your  head,  ragged,  pro- 
jecting, and  menacing  ;  perhaps  from  a  thousand  or  two 
feet  below,  the  Mediterranean,  in  solemn  grandeur,  dashes 
its  ever-restless  waves  against  the  base  of  the  cliffs.     Often 
a  wall  is  built  up  from  below,  either  solid  or  sustained  on 
arches  to  support  the  road ;  and  you  travel  within  a  few 
feet  or  yards  of  a  tremendous  precipice,  beyond  the  edge  of 
which  there  is  nothing  between  you  and  death.     In  general 


92  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

there  is  a  parapet,  but  not  always  ;  and  sometimes  road  ma- 
terials or  rubbish  form  an  imperfect  barrier.  There  is, 
however,  no  danger  ;  and  the  traveler  proceeds  with  full 
confidence,  and  is  quite  at  ease  to  enjoy  the  magnificent 
scenery.  I  feel  that  it  is  impossible  to  convey  in  language 
any  adequate  idea  of  this  conjunction  of  lofty  and  dreary 
mountains  with  the  sea. 

3.  The  mountains  rise  in  terrific  grandeur,  dark,  wild, 
barren,  ragged,  and  impending,  in  beetling  cliffs,  indented 
with  yawning  chasms  and  deep  gorges.     You  are  suspended 
in  mid-air  between  heaven  and  earth  and  ocean,  and  are 
equally  impressed  with  the  sublimity  of  nature  and  the 
power  and  daring  of  man. 

4.  As  we  advanced  we  were  much  impressed  by  the  skill- 
ful husbandry  exhibited  among  these  rude,  barren  mount- 
ains.    They  were  extensively  terraced — the  terraces  being 
supported  by  stone  walls — at   distances   of  two  or  three 
yards  apart.     Wherever  a  spadeful  of  earth  could  be  found 
it  was  carefully  preserved  and  cultivated  ;  and  irrigation 
was  most  faithfully  performed.     To  that  end,  at  frequent 
intervals,  little  stone  basins  for  water  are  established,  into 
which  the  mountain  streams  are  conducted. 

Benjamin  Silliman. 


THE    FIGHT   OF    PASO    DEL   MAR. 

GUSTY  and  raw  was  the  morning, 

A  fog  hung  over  the  seas, 
And  its  gray  skirts,  rolling  inland, 

Were  torn  by  the  mountain  trees  ; 
No  sound  was  heard  but  the  dashing 

Of  waves  on  the  sandy  bar, 
When  Pablo  of  San  Diego 

Rode  down  to  the  Paso  del  Mar. 


MOUNTAIN  ROADS  AND  PASSES,  93 

2.  The  pescador  out  in  his  shallop, 

Gathering  his  harvest  so  wide, 
Sees  the  dim  bulk  of  the  headland 

Loom  over  the  waste  of  the  tide  ; 
He  sees,  like  a  white  thread,  the  pathway 

Wind  round  on  the  terrible  wall, 
Where  the  faint,  moving  speck  of  the  rider 

Seems  hovering  close  to  its  fall. 

3.  Stout  Pablo  of  San  Diego 

Rode  down  from  the  hills  behind  ; 
With  the  bells  on  his  gray  mule  tinkling, 

He  sang  through  the  fog  and  wind ; 
Under  his  thick,  misted  eyebrows 

Twinkled  his  eye  like  a  star, 
And  fiercer  he  sang  as  the  sea-winds 

Drove  cold  on  the  Paso  del  Mar. 

4.  Now  Bernal,  the  herdsman  of  Chino, 

Had  traveled  the  shore  since  dawn, 
Leaving  the  ranches  behind  him — 

Good  reason  had  he  to  be  gone  ! 
The  blood  was  still  red  on  his  dagger, 

The  fury  was  hot  in  his  brain, 
And  the  chill  driving  scud  of  the  breakers 

Beat  thick  on  his  forehead  in  vain. 

5.  With  his  poncho  wrapped  gloomily  round  him. 

He  mounted  the  dizzying  road, 
And  the  chasms  and  steeps  of  the  headland 

Were  slippery  and  wet  as  he  trod  : 
Wild  swept  the  wind  of  the  ocean, 

Eolling  the  fog  from  afar, 
When  near  him  came  tinkling  a  mule-bell 

Midway  on  Paso  del  Mar. 


94  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

6.  "Back  !"  shouted  Bernal,  full  fiercely, 

And  "  Back  ! "  shouted  Pablo,  in  wrath, 
As  his  mule  halted,  startled  and  shrinking. 

On  the  perilous  line  of  the  path. 
The  roar  of  devouring  surges 

Came  up  from  the  breakers'  hoarse  war, 
And,  "Back,  or  you  perish  !"  cried  Bernal, 

"  I  turn  not  on  Paso  del  Mar  ! " 

7.  The  gray  mule  stood  firm  as  the  headland, 

He  clutched  at  the  jingling  rein, 
When  Pablo  rose  up  in  his  saddle 

And  smote  till  he  dropped  it  again. 
A  wild  oath  of  passion  swore  Bernal, 

And  brandished  his  dagger  still  red, 
While  fiercely  stout  Pablo  leaned  forward, 

And  fought  o'er  his  trusty  mule's  head. 

8.  They  fought  till  the  black  wall  below  them 

Shone  red  through  the  misty  blast ; 
Stout  Pablo  then  struck,  leaning  farther, 

The  broad  breast  of  Bernal  at  last. 
And,  frenzied  with  pain,  the  swart  herdsman 

Closed  on  him  with  terrible  strength, 
And  jerked  him,  in  spite  of  his  struggles, 

Down  from  the  saddle  at  length. 

9c  They  grappled  with  desperate  madness 

On  the  slippery  edge  of  the  wall ; 
They  swayed  on  the  brink,  and  together 

Reeled  out  to  the  rush  of  the  fall. 
A  cry  of  the  wildest  death-anguish 

Rang  faint  through  the  mist  afar, 
And  the  riderless  mule  went  homeward 

From  the  fight  of  Paso  del  Mar. 

Bayard  Taylm. 


MOUNTAIN  ROADS  AND  PASSES.  95 


PASSAGE    OF    ST.    BERNARD    BY    NAPOLEON. 

1.  OK  the  eastern  frontiers  of  France  there  surge  up, 
from  luxuriant  meadows  and  vine-clad  fields  and  hill-sides, 
the  majestic  ranges  of  the  Alps,  piercing  the  clouds,  and 
soaring  with  glittering  pinnacles  into  the  region  of  per- 
petual snow  and  ice.      Vast  spurs  of  the  mountains  ex- 
tend on  each  side,  opening  gloomy  gorges  and  frightful 
defiles,  through  which  foaming  torrents  rush  impetuous- 
ly, walled  in  by  almost  precipitous  cliffs,  whose  summits, 
crowned  with  melancholy  firs,  are  inaccessible  to  the  foot 
of  man. 

2.  The  principal  pass  over  this  enormous  ridge  was  that 
of  the  Great  St.  Bernard.     The  traveler,  accompanied  by  a 
guide,  and  mounted  on  a  mule,  slowly  and  painfully  as- 
cended a  steep  and  rugged  path,  now  crossing  a  narrow 
bridge,  spanning  a  fathomless  abyss,  again  creeping  along 
the  edge  of  a  precipice  where  the  eagle  soared  and  screamed 
over  the  fir-tops  in  the  abyss  below,  and  where  a  perpen- 
dicular wall  rose  to  giddy  heights  in  the  clouds  above.    The 
path   at   times   was    so   narrow  that   it   seemed  that   the 
mountain  goat  could  with  difficulty  find  a  foothold  for  its 
slender  hoof.     A  false  step,  or  a  slip  upon  the  icy  rocks, 
would  precipitate  the  traveler,  a  mangled  corpse,  a  thou- 
sand  feet   upon    the    fragments   of   granite   in   the   gulf 
beneath.     As  higher  and  higher  he  climbed  these  wild 
and  rugged  and  cloud-enveloped  paths,  borne  by  the  un- 
erring instinct  of  the  faithful  mule,  his  steps  were  often 
arrested  by  the  roar  of  the  avalanche,  and  he  gazed  ap- 
palled upon  its  resistless  rush,    as  rocks  and  trees  and 
earth  and  snow  and  ice  swept  by  him  with  awful  and  re- 
sistless desolation  far  down  into  the  dimly-discerned  tor- 
rents at  his  feet. 

3.  At  God's  bidding  the  avalanche  fell.     No  precaution 

"B'FM 

Of  TJHJ 


96  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

could  save  the  traveler  who  was  in  its  path.  He  was  in- 
stantly borne  to  destruction,  and  buried  where  no  voice  but 
the  archangel's  trump  could  ever  reach  his  ear.  Terrific 


Hospice  of  the  Great  St.  Bernard. 

storms  of  wind  and  snow  often  swept  through  these  bleak 
altitudes,  blinding  and  smothering  the  traveler.  Hundreds 
of  bodies,  like  pillars  of  ice,  emb'almed  in  snow,  are  now 


MOUNTAIN  ROADS  AND  PASSES.  97 

sepulchred  in  those  drifts,  there  to  sleep  till  the  fires  of 
the  last  conflagration  shall  have  consumed  their  winding- 
sheet.  Having  toiled  two  days  through  such  scenes  of 
desolation  and  peril,  the  adventurous  traveler  stands  upon 
the  summit  of  the  pass,  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea. 

4.  The  scene  here  presented  is  inexpressibly  gloomy  and 
appalling.     Nature  in  these  wild  regions  assumes  her  most 
severe  and  somber  aspect.     As  one  emerges  from  the  pre- 
cipitous and  craggy  ascent  upon  this  Valley  of  Desolation, 
as  it  is  emphatically  called,  the  Convent  of  St.  Bernard 
presents  itself  to  the  view. 

5.  This  cheerless  abode,  the  highest  spot  of  inhabited 
ground  in  Europe,  has  been  tenanted,  for  more  than  a 
thousand  years,  by  a  succession   of  joyless  and  self-deny- 
ing monks,  who,  in  that   retreat  of  granite  and  ice,   en- 
deavor to  serve  their  Maker  by  rescuing  bewildered  trav- 
elers   from   the    destruction   with   which   they    are    ever 
threatened  to  be  overwhelmed  by  the  storms  which  battle 
against  them.     In  the  middle  of  the  ice-bound  valley  lies 
a  lake — clear,  dark,  and  cold — whose  depths,  even  in  mid- 
summer, reflect  the  eternal  glaciers  which  soar  sublimely 
around. 

6.  The  descent  to  the  plains  of  Italy  is  even  more  pre- 
cipitous and  dangerous  than  the  ascent  from  the  green 
pastures  of  France.     No  vegetation  adorns  these  dismal  and 
storm-swept  cliffs  of  granite  and  ice.     The  pinion  of  the 
eagle  fails  in  its  rarefied  air,  and  the  chamois  ventures  not 
to  climb  its  steep  and  slippery  crags.     No  human  beings 
are  ever  to  be  seen  on  these  bleak  summits,  except  the  few 
shivering  travelers  who  tarry  for  an  hour  to  receive  the 
hospitality  of  the  convent,  and  the  hooded  monks,  wrapped 
in  thick  and  coarse  garments,  with  their  staves  and  their 
dogs,  groping  through  the  storms  of  sleet  and  snow.     Even 
the   wood,    which   burns   with   frugal  faintness   on   their 


98  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

hearths,  is  borne,  in  painful  burdens,  up  the  mountain- 
sides on  the  shoulders  of  the  monks. 

7.  Such  was  the  barrier  which  Napoleon  intended  to 
surmount  that  he  might  fall  upon  the  rear  of  the  Aus- 
trians,  who  were  battering  down  the  walls  of  Genoa,  where 
Massena  was  besieged,  and  who  were  thundering,  flushed 
with  victory,  at  the  very  gates  of  Nice.     Over  this  wild 
mountain  pass,  where  the  mule  could  with  difficulty  tread, 
and  where  no  wheel  had  ever  rolled,  or  by  any  possibil- 
ity could  roll,  Napoleon  contemplated  transporting  an  army 
of  sixty  thousand  men,  with  ponderous  artillery  and  tons 
of  cannon-balls,  and  baggage,  and  all  the  bulky  munitions 
of  war. 

8.  At  a  word,  the  whole  majestic  army  was  in  motion. 
Like  a  meteor  he  swept  over  France.     He  arrived  at  the 
foot   of  the   mountains.      The   troops   and   all   the  para- 
phernalia  of  war  were  on  the  spot  at  the  designated  hour. 
Napoleon  immediately  appointed  a  very  careful  inspection. 
Every  foot-soldier  and  every  horseman  passed  before  his 
scrutinizing  eye.     If  a  shoe  was  ragged,  or  a  jacket  torn, 
or  a  musket  injured,  the  defect  was  immediately  repaired. 
His  glowing  words  inspired  the  troops  with  the  ardor  which 
was  burning  in  his  own  bosom. 

9.  Each  man  was  required  to  carry,  besides  his  arms, 
food  for  several  days,  and  a  large  quantity  of  cartridges. 
As  the  sinuosities  of  the  precipitous  path  could  only  be 
trod  in  single  file,  the  heavy  wheels  were  taken  from  the 
carriages,  and  each,  slung  upon  a  pole,  was  borne  by  two  men . 
The  task  for  the  foot-soldiers  was  far  less  than  for  the  horse- 
men.   The  latter  clambered  up  on  foot,  dragging  their  horses 
after  them.    The  dragoon,  in  the  steep  and  narrow  path,  was 
compelled  to  walk  before  his  horse.     At  the  least  stumble  he 
was  exposed  to  being  plunged  into  the  abyss  yawning  before 
him.     In  this  way  many  horses  and  several  riders  perished. 

10.  To  transport  the  heavy  cannon  and  howitzers,  pine 


MOUNTAIN  HO  ADS  AND  PASSES.  99 

logs  were  split  in  the  center,  the  parts  hollowed  out,  and 
the  guns  sunk  into  the  grooves.  A  long  string  of  mules, 
in  single  file,  were  attached  to  the  ponderous  machines  of 
war,  to  drag  them  up  the  slippery  ascent.  The  mules  soon 
began  to  fail,  and  then  the  men,  with  hearty  good-will, 
brought  their  own  shoulders  into  the  harness — a  hundred 
men  to  a  single  gun. 

11.  With  shouts  of  encouragement  they  toiled  at  the 
cables,  successive  bands  of  a  hundred  men  relieving  each 
other  every  half  hour.     High  on  those  craggy  steeps,  gleam- 
ing through  the  mist,  the  glittering  bands  of  armed  men 
like  phantoms  appeared.     The  eagle  wheeled  and  screamed 
beneath   their  feet.      The   mountain  goat,  affrighted  by 
the  unwonted  spectacle,  bounded  away,  and  paused  in  bold 
relief  upon  the  cliff,  to  gaze  upon  the  martial  array  which 
so  suddenly  had  peopled  the  solitude. 

12.  When  they  approached  any  spot  of  very  especial 
difficulty,   the   trumpets   sounded   the   charge,   which   re- 
echoed, with  sublime  reverberations,  from  pinnacle  to  pin- 
nacle of  rock  and  ice.     Animated  by  these  bugle  notes,  the 
soldiers  strained  every  nerve  as  if   rushing   upon   a   foe. 
Napoleon  offered  to  these  bands  the  same  reward  which  he 
had  promised  the  peasants.     But  to  a  man  they  refused 
the  gold.     They  had  imbibed  the  spirit  of  their  chief,  his 
enthusiasm,   and  his  proud    superiority  to  all  mercenary 
purposes.     "We  are  not  toiling  for  gold,"  said  they,  "but 
for  your  approval,  and  to  share  your  glory." 

13.  When  they  arrived  at  the   summit,  each   soldier 
found,  to  his  surprise  and  joy,  the  abundant  comforts  which 
Napoleon's  kind  care  had  provided.     One  would  have  an- 
ticipated there  a  scene  of  terrible  confusion.     To  feed  an 
army  of  forty  thousand  hungry  men  is  not  a  light  under- 
taking.    Yet   everything  was   so   carefully  arranged,  and 
the  influence  of  Napoleon  so  boundless,  that  not  a  soldier 
left  the  ranks.     Each  man  received  his  slice  of  bread  and 

8 


100  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

cheese  and  quaffed  his  cup  of  wine,  and  passed  on.  It 
was  a  point  of  honor  for  no  one  to  stop.  Whatever  ob- 
structions were  in  the  way  were  to  be,  at  all  hazards,  sur- 
mounted, that  the  long  file,  extending  nearly  twenty  miles, 
might  not  be  thrown  into  confusion.  The  descent  was 
more  perilous  than  the  ascent.  But  fortune  continued  to 
smile.  The  sky  was  clear,  the  weather  delightful,  and  in 
four  days  the  whole  army  was  reassembled  on  the  plains  of 

Italy. 

John  S.  C.  Abbott. 


PART  VIII. 
ARCTIC  REGIONS. 


AN     ESQU I M AUX     HUT 

1.  ON  the  slope,  fifty  yards  from  the  beach,  in  the  midst 
of  rocks  and  bowlders,  stood  the  Esquimaux  settlement, 
consisting  of  two  stone  huts,  twenty  yards  apart.     It  was 
more  fitted  for  the  dwelling-place  of  wild  animals  than  for 
the  home  of  human  beings.     Around  it  was  a  wilderness  of 
snow  and  ice.     In  the  evening,  while  the  men  in  our  tent 
were  asleep,  I  paid  a  visit  to  one  of  these  huts  ;  I  found  it 
to  be  in  shape  much  like  an  old-fashioned  country  clay 
oven,  square  in  front,  and  sloping  back  into  the  hill.     It 
was  now  covered  with  snow,  and,  until  after  entering,  I 
could  not   discover  of  what  material   it   was  made.     To 
get  inside  I  was  obliged  to  crawl  on  my  hands  and  knees 
through  a  covered  passage  about  twelve  feet  long.     Kalu- 
tunah,  upon  hearing  my  footsteps,  came  out  to  welcome 
me,  which  he  did  by  patting  me  on  the  back  and  grinning 
in  my  face.     Preceding  me  with  a  smoking  torch,  which 
was  a  piece  of  burning  moss  saturated  with  fat,  he  advanced 
through  the  low,  narrow  passage,   tramping  over  several 
snarling  dogs  and  half-grown  puppies. 

2.  After  making  two  or  three  turns,  I  observed  at  last  a 
bright  light  streaming  down  through  a  hole,  into  which  my 
guide  elevated  his  body  ;  and  then,  moving  to  one  side,  he 


102 


GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 


made  room  for  his  guest.  I  found  myself  in  a  den  in  which 
I  could  not  stand  upright,  but  which  was  crowded  with 
human  beings  of  both  sexes,  and  of  all  ages  and  sizes.  I 
was  received  with  a  hilarious  shout,  which  assured  me  of 
welcome.  Like  a  flock  of  sheep  crowding  into  a  pen,  they 
packed  themselves  in  the  corners  to  make  room  for  me  on 
the  only  seat  which  I  could  discover.  I  had  come  to  gratify 
my  own  curiosity,  but  theirs  was  even  more  rapacious  than 
mine,  and  must  be  first  satisfied.  Everything  I  had  on  and 
about  me  underwent  the  closest  examination. 


Esquimaux  Life. 

3.  My  long  beard  greatly  excited  their  interest  and  ad- 
miration. Being  themselves  without  this  hirsute  appen- 
dage, or  at  most  having  only  a  few  stiff  hairs  upon  the 
upper  lip  and  the  point  of  the  chin,  I  could  readily  appre- 
ciate their  curiosity.  They  touched  it  and  stroked  it,  pat- 
ting me  all  the  while  on  the  back,  and  hanging  on  to  my 
arms,  legs,  and  shoulders.  I  was  a  very  Peter  Parley  among 
a  crowd  of  overgrown  children.  They  were  greatly  puzzled 


ARCTIC  REGIONS,  103 

over  my  woolen  clothing,  and  could  not  comprehend  of 
what  kind  of  skins  it  was  made.  The  nearest  that  I  could 
approach  to  a  description  was  that  it  grew  on  an  animal 
looking  like  an  "Ukalek"  (hare).  That  it  was  not  skin  I 
could  not  make  them  understand.  Hans,  being  once  im- 
portuned at  the  ship  on  the  same  subject,  told  some  of 
them,  rather  pettishly,  that  it  was  a  "man  skin";  and 
this  I  found  to  be  the  general  impression. 

4.  While  satisfying  their  curiosity  I  found  leisure  to 
examine  the  hut.     The  whole  interior  was  about  ten  feet  in 
diameter,  and  five  and  a  half  feet  high.     The  walls  were 
made  of  stones,  moss,  and  the  bones  of  whale,  narwhal, 
and  other  animals.     They  were  not  arched,  but  drawn  in 
gradually  from  the  foundation,  and  capped  by  long  slabs 
of  slate-stone,  stretching  from  side  to  side.     The  floor  was 
covered  with  thin,  flat  stones.     Half  of  this  floor,  at  the 
back  part  of  the  hut,  was  elevated  a  foot.     This  elevation 
was  called  "breck"  ;  and  it  served  both  as  bed  and  seat, 
being  covered  with  dry  grass,  over  which  were  spread  bear- 
and  dog-skins.     At  the  corners  in  front  were  similar  eleva- 
tions, under  one  of  which  lay  a  litter  of  pups,  with  their 
mother,  and  under  the  other  was  stowed  a  joint  of  meat. 
The  front  of  the  hut  was  square,  and  through  it,  above  the 
passage-way,  opened  a  window  ;  a  square  sheet  of  strips  of 
dried  intestine,  sewed  together,  admitted  the  light. 

5.  The  hole  of  the  entrance  in  the  floor  was  close  to  the 
front  wall,  and  was  covered  with  a  piece  of  seal-skin.     The 
walls  were  lined  with  seal-  or  fox-skins,  stretched  to  dry. 
In  the  cracks  between  the  stones  were  thrust  whipstocks 
and  bone  pegs,  on  which  hung  coils  of  harpoon-lines.     On 
one  side  of  me,  at  the  edge  of  the  "breck,"  sat  an  old 
woman,  and  on  the  other  side  a  young  one,  each  busily 
engaged  in  attending  to  a  smoky,  greasy  lamp.     A  third 
woman  sat  in  a  corner,  similarly  occupied.     The   lamps 
were  made  of  soap-stone,  and  in  shape  much  resembled  a 


104  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

clam-shell,  being  about  eight  inches  in  diameter.  The 
cavity  was  filled  with  oil,  and  on  the  straight  edge  a  flame 
was  burning  quite  brilliantly.  The  wick  which  supplied 
fuel  to  the  flame  was  of  moss.  The  only  business  of  the 
women  seemed  to  be  to  prevent  the  lamps  from  smoking, 
and  to  keep  them  supplied  with  blubber,  large  pieces  of 
which  were  placed  in  them,  the  heat  of  the  flame  trying 
out  the  oil. 

6.  About  three  inches  above  this  flame  hung,  suspended 
from  the  ceiling,  an  oblong  square  pot  of  the  same  mate- 
rial as  the  lamp,  in  which  something  was  slowly  simmering. 
Over  this  was  suspended  a  rack  made  of  bear  rib-bones 
lashed  together   crosswise,  on   which  were  placed  to   dry 
stockings,  mittens,  pantaloons,  and  other  articles  of  cloth- 
ing.    The  inmates  had  no  other  fire  than  was  supplied  by 
the  lamps,  nor  did  they  need  any.     The  hut  was  absolutely 
hot.     So  many  persons  crowded  into  so  small  a  space  would 
of  themselves  keep  the  place  warm.     I  counted  eighteen, 
and  may,  very  probably,  have  missed  two  or  three  small 
ones.     Centering  each  around  its  own  particular  lamp  and 
pot  were  three  families,  one  of  which  was  represented  by 
three  generations.     These  three  families  numbered,  in  all, 
thirteen  individuals  ;  but   besides  these  there   were  some 
visitors  from  the  other  hut. 

7.  The  air  of  the  place  waff-  insufferable,  excejpt  for  a 
short  time.     The  half-decomposed  scraps  of  f ur,  *fat,  and 
flesh;  which  laypn*the  floor  and  "breck,"  or  were  heaiped  in 
the  corners  ;  the  poisonous  multiplicity  of  breathing  lungs  ; 
tlfe  steam  which  rose  from  the  heated  bodies  of  the  inmates  ; 
and  the  smoke  of  the  lamps — altogether  created  an  atmos- 
phere which  was  almost  stifling.     There  may  have  been  a 
vent-hole,  but  I  did  not  see  any.     1  perspired  as  if  in  the 
tropics.     Perceiving  this,  the  company  invited  me  to  imi- 
tate them,  and  instantly  half  a  dozen  boys  and  girls  seized 
my  coat  and  boots,  preparatory  to  stripping  me.     But  J 


ARCTIC  REGIONS.  105 

had  brought  from  home  certain  conventional  notions,  and 
I  declined  the  intended  courtesy,  telling  them  that  I  must 
go  back  to  my  people. 

8.  First,  however,  I  must  have  something  to  eat.  This 
was  an  invitation  which  I  feared  ;  and  now  that  it  had 
come,  I  knew  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  decline  it.  The 
expression  of  thanks  (koyenak)  was  one  of  the  few  in  their 
language  that  I  knew,  and  of  this  I  made  the  most.  They 
laughed  heartily  when  I  said  " Koyenak"  in  reply  to  their 
invitation  to  eat ;  and  immediately  a  not  very  beautiful 
young  damsel  poured  some  of  the  contents  of  one  of  the 
before-mentioned  pots  into  a  skin  dish,  and  after  sipping 
it,  to  make  sure,  as  I  supposed,  that  it  was  not  too  hot,  she 
passed  it  to  me  over  a  group  of  heads.  At  first  my  cour- 
age forsook  me  ;  but  all  eyes  were  fixed  upon  me,  and  it 
would  have  been  highly  impolitic  to  shrink.  I  therefore 
shut  my  eyes,  held  my  nose,  swallowed  the  dose,  and  re- 
tired. I  was  afterward  told  that  it  was  their  great  deli- 
cacy which  had  been  proffered  to  me — a  soup  made  by 
boiling  together  blood,  oil,  and  seal-intestines.  It  was  well 

that  I  was  ignorant  of  this  fact. 

Dr.  Isaac  L  Hayes. 


THE  AURORA  BOREALIS. 

1.  IT  was  the  last  day  of  the  year  1856,  and  we  were 
traveling  near  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia,  within  a 
short  distance  of  the  Arctic  Circle.  The  long  winter  nights 
had  set  in,  and  it  was  still  twelve  miles  to  the  end  of  our 
day's  journey.  I  was  lying  stretched  out  in  the  long  bag- 
gage shed,  in  a  sort  of  half  sleep,  when  an  exclamation  from 
my  companion  awakened  me.  I  opened  my  eyes  as  I  lay  in 
his  lap,  looked  upward,  and  saw  a  narrow  belt  or  scarf  of 
silver  fire  stretching  directly  across  the  zenith,  with  its 


106  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

loose,  frayed  ends  slowly  swaying  to   and  fro   down  the 
slopes  of  the  sky. 

2.  Presently  it  began  to  waver,  bending  back  and  forth, 
sometimes  slowly,  sometimes  with  a  quick,  springing  mo- 
tion, as  if  testing  its  elasticity.     Now  it  took  the  shape  of 
a  bow,  now  undulated  into  Hogarth's  line  of  beauty,  bright- 
ening and  fading  in  its  sinuous  motion,  and  finally  formed 
a  shepherd's  crook,  the  end  of  which  suddenly  began  to 
separate  and  fall  off,  as  if  driven  by  a  strong  wind,  until 
the  whole  belt  shot  away  in  long,  drifting  lines  of  fiery 
snow.     It  then  gathered  again  into  a  dozen  dancing  frag- 
ments,   which   alternately   advanced    and    retreated,    shot 
hither  and  thither,  against  and  across  each  other,  blazed 
out  in  yellow  and  rosy  gleams,  or  paled  again,  playing  a 
thousand  fantastic  tricks,  as  if  guided  by  some  wild  whim. 

3.  We  lay  silent,  with  upturned  faces,  watching  this 
wonderful  spectacle.      Suddenly  the   scattered  lights  ran 
together,  as  by  a  common  impulse,  joined  their  bright  ends 
and  fell  in  a  broad,  luminous  curtain,  straight  downward 
through  the  air,  until  its  fringed  hem  swung  apparently 
but  a  few  yards  over  our  heads.     This  phenomenon  was  so 
unexpected  and  startling  that  for  a  moment  I  thought  our 
faces  would  be  touched  by  the  skirts  of  the  glorious  auroral 
drapery. 

4.  It  did  not  follow  the  spheric  curve  of  the  firmament, 
but  hung  plumb  from  the  zenith,  falling,  apparently,  mill- 
ions of  leagues  through  the  air,  its  folds  gathered  together 
among  the  stars,  and  its  embroidery  of  flame  sweeping  the 
earth  and  shedding  a   pale,  unearthly  radiance  over   the 
wastes  of  snow.     A  moment  afterward  it  was  again  drawn 
up,  parted,  waved  its  flambeaux,  and  shot  its  lances  hither 
and  thither,  advancing  and  retreating  as  before.    Anything 
so  strange,  so  capricious,  so  wonderful,  so  gloriously  beauti- 
ful, I  scarcely  hope  to  see  again. 

5.  Two  weeks  later,  while  traveling  in  Norwegian  Lap- 


ARCTIC  REGIONS.  107 

land,  we  were  favored  with  another  display  of  a  similar 
character.  The  night  was  calm,  clear,  and  starry,  but  after 
an  hour  a  bank  of  auroral  light  gradually  arose  in  the  north 
and  formed  a  broad  arch,  which  threw  its  luster  over  the 
snow  and  lighted  up  our  path.  Almost  stationary  at  first, 
a  restless  motion  after  a  time  agitated  the  gleaming  bow  ; 
it  shot  out  broad  streamers  of  yellow  fire,  gathered  them  in 
and  launched  them  forth  again,  like  the  hammer  of  Thor, 
which  always  returned  to  his  hand  after  striking  the  blow 
for  which  it  had  been  hurled. 

6.  The  most  wonderful  appearance,  however,  was  an  im- 
mense square  curtain,  which  fell  from  all  the  central  part  of 
the  arch.  The  celestial  scene-shifters  were  rather  clumsy, 
for  they  allowed  one  end  to  fall  lower  than  the  other,  so 
that  it  overlapped  and  doubled  back  upon  itself  in  a  broad 
fold.  Here  it  hung  for  probably  half  an  hour,  swinging 
to  and  fro,  as  if  moved  by  a  gentle  wind.  What  new 
spectacle  was  in  secret  preparation  behind  it  we  did  not 
learn,  for  it  was  hauled  up  so  bunglingly  that  the  whole 
arch  broke  and  fell  in,  leaving  merely  a  pile  of  luminous 

ruins  under  the  polar  star. 

Bayard  Taylor. 


ARCTIC    ICE. 

1.  THERE  is  something  more  than  dangei  to  be  noticed 
about  these  frozen  regions.  The  moment  the  navigator 
leaves  the  open  sea  and  enters  the  ice,  his  old  seamanship 
goes  for  nothing.  A  new  art  is  required  to  work  his  vessel 
in  these  half-solid  seas.  Clumsy,  heavy,  but  tight  and 
snug  little  craft  these  vessels  are.  The  shocks  they  en- 
counter from  the  drifting  ice,  and  the  nips  and  blows  they 
receive  on  all  hands,  would  crunch  up  any  ordinary  vessel 
like  a  walnut  in  the  gripe  of  the  nut-cracker.  Far  on 


108  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

every  side  stretch  floating  islands  of  ice,  now  separating  so 
as  to  leave  a  broad  alluring  channel  for  the  vessel,  then 
closing  with  a  rapidity  which  seems  to  cut  off  all  hope  of 
escape.  The  treacherous  quickness  of  their  approach,  and 
their  magically  sudden  changes,  are  the  marvel  and  terror 
of  mariners. 

2.  The  most  open  sea  yields  no  security.     Many  a  vessel 
has  been  caught  and  sunk  before  those  near  her  dreamed  of 
her  danger.     These  floes  are  fragments  broken  by  thaw  and 
currents  from  the  vast  surfaces  called  fields,  and  are  them- 
selves often  of  enormous  size.     Parry  saw  one  half  a  mile 
in  diameter.     We  can  understand  with  what  horror  the 
seaman  beholds  such  a  mass  floating  toward  him,  as  he  lies 
off  the  shore  of  some  rocky  promontory.     Parry  describes 
the  terrific  crash  of  one  of  these  floes  against  a  precipice, 
and  the  piles  of  broken  ice  splintered  from  it  in  the  shock. 

3.  If  the  ice  is  thick,  and  the  shore  shelving,  ships  may 
be  brought  so  near  the  land  that  the  floe  strands  before 
reaching  them.     And  so  heavy  is  the  ice  in  these  regions 
that  the  mariner  often  owes  his  safety  to  this  expedient. 
Dr.  Kane  found  a  piece  standing  nine  feet  above  water, 
and,  since  there  is  six  times  as  much  below  as  above,  the 
total  thickness   must   have  been   sixty-three   feet.      This 
thickness  is  not  the  result  of  direct  freezing.     When  the 
young  ice  is  formed,  the  snow  often  weighs  it  down  and 
cracks  it.     The  sea-water,  issuing  through,  makes  a  snow 
sludge,  which  the  winter  freezes  into  solid  ice. 

4.  Fields  of  ice  are  the  loose  fragments  and  floes  welded 
together  by  the  freezing  of  the  water  between,  and  further 
incrusted  with   fresh   layers  of   saturated  snow,  which   is 
gradually  converted  into  ice  by  the  cold  of  the  winter.     No 
wonder,  then,  that  this  ice  is  far  from  smooth,  and  is  found 
intersected  by  vast  hammocks,  or  raised  mounds,  crossing 
the  surface  in  all  directions.     It  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
poinf  out  to  the  reader  how  materially  this  must  interfere 


ARCTIC  REGIONS. 


109 


with  the  sledging,  which  we  ordinarily  deem  so  easy  and 
delightful  a  mode  of  traveling. 

5.  The  ice-fields  thus  formed,  however,  though  the 
largest,  are  not  the  most  striking  feature  of  the  Arctic  seas. 
The  most  remarkable  objects  are  those  floating  mountains 
of  ice  which  tower  majestically  from  the  surrounding  wa- 
ters, and  are  known  under  the  familiar  name  of  icebergs. 
Sometimes  seventy  or  a  hundred  of  these  wonderful  masses 
may  be  seen  at  a  time. 


I 


Ice-fields  in  the  Arctic  Regions. 

6.  The  imagination  might  weary  itself  w,ith  running 
riot  amid  the  fantastic  forms  and  beauties  they  present. 
Temples  of  ice,  with  sculptured  aisles  and  fretted  columns, 
and  solemn  archways,  grouped  together  in  glorious  sym- 


110  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

metry,  or  thrown  in  hideous  confusion  and  ruin  by  the 
shock  of  some  terrible  earthquake  ;  cities  of  ice,  with  spire 
and  dome  and  minaret,  all  gleaming  in  the  sunset's  blaze  ; 
fairy  halls  of  ice,  spangled  with  jewels  of  every  hue,  and 
flashing  in  the  noontide  with  the  splendor  of  myriad  rain- 
bows ;  mountains  of  ice,  pale,  cold,  and  spectral,  with  that 
awful  light  which  distinguishes  the  snow-clad  summits  of 
the  Alps  amid  the  gathering  shadows  of  the  evening. 

7.  Their  size  is  enormous  ;  one  of  them,  seen  by  Cap- 
tain Fenton,  of  the  Judith,  who  accompanied  Sir  Martin 
Frobisher's  third  expedition,  stood  sixty-five  fathoms  above 
the  water.     The  deep  blue  of  the  base,  rising  from  the  surf 
like  a  precipice  of  solid  sapphire,  and  the  dazzling  white- 
ness of  their  crown  of  snow,  render  them  among  the  most 
strikingly  beautiful  objects  of  these  regions.     They  are  at 
once  the  most  terrible  foes  and  the  most  steadfast  friends 
of  the  mariner. 

8.  When  the  storm-swell  rolls  in   from  the   Atlantic, 
when  the  blocks  of  ice  pitch  and  roll  among  the  waves, 
grinding  and  crashing  with  a  fearful  noise,  and  hurrying 
the  vessel  onward  in  their  course,  these  pitiless  ice  preci- 
pices, against  which  the  waves  are  breaking  in  huge  mount- 
ains of  spray,  may  well  be  looked  upon  with  feelings  of 
terror.     So,   too,  when  they  are  seen  bearing  down  with 
their  resistless  strength  toward  the  field   on   the   side  of 
which  the  mariner  is  floating,  he  may  well  regard  them  as 
the  most  dreadful  of  foes. 

9.  But  how  often,  snugly  moored  under  their  lee,  has 
he  beheld  the  pack,  through  which  his  feeble  craft  had  for 
days  been  vainly  struggling,  torn  in  pieces  like  a  sheet  of 
paper,  and  sail  proudly  on,  with  a  track  of  seething,  eddy- 
ing water,  cleared  of  every  fragment  of  ice  for  half  a  mile 
in  his  train  !     It  is  almost  always  as  the  good  genii  of  the 
navigators  that  these  ice  mountains  appear — capricious,  in- 
deed, as  all  genii  are  ;  often  threatening,  but  seldom  or  never 


ARCTIC  REGIONS. 

doing  any  harm  ;  and  sometimes  rendering  the  most  essen- 
tial services. 

10.  "We  have  read,  indeed,  of  one  doting  old  berg — so 
far  gone  that  it  can  scarcely  be  considered  responsible— 
which   very  nearly  played  the  part  of  a  most  malignant 
genius  to  l)r.  Kane.     This  unfortunate  explorer  had  just 
moored  under  its  sheltering  wall,  when  it  suddenly  began 
to  tremble  like  a  paralytic  man,  and  to  shed  down  frag- 
ments of  ice  upon  his  bark.     The  doctor  thought  it  was 
time  to  be  off,  and  had  scarcely  loosed  his  hawsers,  and  got 
clear  of  the  berg,  when  a  terrific  crack  shook  through  its 
whole  frame,  and  in  another  instant  the  vast  mass  plunged, 
an  avalanche  of  ruins,  into  the  sea. 

11.  As  a  kind  of  set-off,  however,   against  this  story, 
we  must  tell  of  a  more  genial  berg  to  which  the  doctor  once 
applied  for  help.     While  sailing  up   Smith's  Sound,  with 
tightly-packed  ice  on  his  left,  and  an  army  of  bergs  on  his 
right,  all  of  a  sudden  the  wind  failed — a  very  common  and 
annoying  circumstance  in  these  regions.     At  the  same  time 
he  saw  the  bergs  in  motion,  bearing  down  for  the  field  of  ice 
on  his  left.     He  could  not  move  an  inch,  and  destruction 
seemed   inevitable,    when,  to  his  delight,  he  perceived  a 
friendly  berg  rapidly  plowing  its  way  up  the  channel.     An 
ice-anchor  was  happily  attached,  and  a  stout  hawser  (how 
they  must  have  looked  to  the  hawser  !)  was  soon  at  full 
stretch  towing  them  along.     It  was  a  race  for  life,  but  the 
vessel  won  it,  having  cleared  the  channel  by  about  five 
yards,  when  the  threatening  berg  came  with  a  fearful  crash 
in  contact  with  the  field. 

12.  But  what  are  these  bergs,  and  where  do  they  come 
from  ?     We  often  read  of  bergs  which  turn  out  to  be  only 
lumps  of  floe  ice  frozen   to  a  remarkable   thickness,  and 
standing   high    above   the   waves.      These,    however,    are 
wrongly   named.     Real   bergs   are   fragments   of   glaciers, 
which  exist  in  Greenland,  as  in  the  Alps  and  Norway,  fed 


112  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

by  great  fields  of  snow,  and  forming  the  rivers  of  this  frozen 
land.  Ice  has  been  shown  to  be  a  thick,  tenacious  liquid, 
possessed  of  considerable  plasticity,  and  pouring  d&wn  an 
incline  by  its  own  gravity,  and  the  internal  movement  of  its 
own  particles.  These  ice  rivers  may  be  seen  winding  along 
the  valleys,  oozing  over  the  precipices,  and  finally  standing 
like  a  frozen  cataract  on  the  very  margin  of  the  waves. 

13.  Another  question  arises  :  How  is  all  this  ice  ever  to 
melt  ?  The  vast  sea  of  unmelted  ice  we  have  before  spoken 
of  shows  that  if  left  to  itself  it  never  would.  Wherever  a 
sheltered  bay  prevents  escape  of  the  ice  into  the  main  drifts 
outside,  it  remains  thick  and  solid  through  the  whole  short 
summer  of  these  northern  climes.  But  in  the  broader  chan- 
nels the  thawing  of  the  thinner  portions  sets  the  ice  in  mo- 
tion within  itself.  Fragments  are  broken  off,  and  the  small 
pieces  that  are  thus  thrown  over  the  surface  of  the  ocean 
readily  yield  to  the  rays  of  an  almost  perpetual  sun.  A 
larger  space  is  thus  left  for  the  movements  of  the  floes, 
which  are  many  of  them  drifted  with  the  southern  current 
down  Baffin's  Bay,  and  finally  melted  in  the  warmer  waters 
of  the  Atlantic. 

Eclectic  Review. 


PART  IX. 
TROPICAL  REGIONS. 


TROPICAL   INSECTS. 

1.  PERSONS  who  have  not  navigated  the  great  rivers  of 
equinoctial  America  can  scarcely  conceive  how,  at  every 
instant,  without  intermission,   you  may  be  tormented  by 
insects  flying  in  the  air ;  and  how  the  multitude  of  these 
little  animals  may  render  vast  regions  almost  uninhabitable. 
Whatever  fortitude  may  be  exercised  to  endure  pain  without 
complaint,  whatever  interest  may  be  felt  in  the  objects  of 
scientific  research,  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  constantly  dis- 
turbed by  the  mosquitoes,   zancudos,  jejens,  and  tempra- 
neros,  that  cover  the  face   and  hands,  pierce  the  clothes 
with  their  long  needle-formed  suckers,  and,  getting  into  the 
mouth  and  nostrils,  occasion  coughing  and  sneezing  when- 
ever any  attempt  is  made  to  speak  in  the  open  air. 

2.  In  the  missions  of  the  Orinoco,  in  the  villages  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  surrounded   by  immense  forests,   the 
plague   of   the  mosquitoes   affords   an   inexhaustible   sub- 
ject of  conversation.     When  two  persons  meet  in  the  morn- 
ing,  the  first  questions  they  address  to   each   other  are  : 
"  How  did  you  find  the  zancudos  during  the  night  ?    How 
are  we  to-day  for  the  mosquitoes  ? "     These  questions  re- 
mind us  of  a  Chinese  form  of  politeness,  which  indicates 
the  ancient  state  of  the  country  where  it  took  birth.     Salu- 


114  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

tations  were  made  heretofore  in  the  celestial  empire  in  the 
following  words  :  Vou-to-hou,  "  Haye  you  been  incommoded 
in  the  night  by  the  serpents  ?  " 

3.  Near  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  the  lower  strata  of 
air,  from  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  the  height  of  fifteen 
or  twenty  feet,  are  absolutely  filled  with  venomous  insects. 
Jf  in  an  obscure  spot — for  instance,  in  the  grottos  of  the 
cataracts  formed  by  superincumbent  blocks  of  granite — you 
direct  your  eyes  toward  the  opening  enlightened  by  the 
sun,  you  see  clouds  of  mosquitoes  more  or  less  thick.     I 
doubt  whether  there  be  a  country  upon  earth  where  man  is 
exposed  to  more  cruel  torments  in  the  rainy  season.     Hav- 
ing passed  the  fifth  degree  of  latitude,  you  are  somewhat 
less  stung  ;  but  on  the  upper  Orinoco  the  stings  are  more 
painful,  because  the  heat  and  the  absolute  want  of  wind 
render  the  air  more  burning  and  more  irritating  in  its  con- 
tact with  the  skin. 

4.  What  appeared  to  us  very  remarkable  is,  that  the 
different  species  do  not  associate  together,  and  that  at  dif- 
ferent hours  of  the  day  you  are  stung  by  distinct  species. 
Every  time  that  the  scene  changes,  and,  to  use  the  simple 
expression  of  the  missionaries,  other  insects  "  mount  guard," 
you  have  a  few  minutes,  often  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  of  re- 
pose.    The  insects  that  disappear  have  not  their  places  in- 
stantly supplied  by  their  successors.     From  half  past  six  in 
the  morning  till  five  in  the  afternoon  the  air  is  filled  with 
mosquitoes,  which  have  not,  as  some  travelers  have  stated, 
the  form  of  our  gnats,  but  that  of  a  small  fly.     Their  sting 
is  painful,  and  it  leaves  a  little  reddish-brown  spot,  which 
is  extravasated.and  coagulated  blood,  where  their  proboscis 
has  pierced  the  skin.     An  hour  before  sunset  a  species  of 
small  gnats,  called  tempraneros,  because  they  appear  also 
at  sunrise,  take  the  place  of  the  mosquitoes.    Their  presence 
scarcely  lasts  an  hour  and  a  half  ;  they  disappear  between 
six  and  seven  in  the  evening,  or,  as  they  say  here,  after  the 


TROPICAL   REGIONS.  115 

Angelus.  After  a  few  minutes'  repose,  you  feel  yourself 
stung  by  zancudos,  another  species  of  gnat  with  very  long 
legs.  Thezancudo,  the  proboscis  of  which  contains  a  sharp- 
pointed  sucker,  causes  the  most  acute  pain,  and  a  swelling 
that  remains  several  weeks. 

5.  The  insects  of  the  tropics  every  where  follow  a  certain 
standard  in  the  periods  at  which  they  alternately  arrive  and 
disappear.     At  fixed   and  invariable  hours,   in   the   same 
season,  and  the  same  latitude,  the  air  is  peopled  with  new 
inhabitants,  and  in  a  zone  where  the  barometer  becomes  a 
clock,   where    everything   proceeds   with   such    admirable 
regularity,  we  might  guess  blindfold  the  hour  of  the  day 

'or  night  by  the  hum  of  the  insects,  and  by  their  stings,  the 
pain  of  which  differs  according  to  the  nature  of  the  poison 
that  each  species  deposits  in  the  wound. 

6.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  whites  born  in  the  torrid 
zone  may  walk  barefoot  with  impunity  in  the  same  apart- 
ment where  a  European  recently  landed  is  exposed  to  the 
attack  of  the  chegoe.     This  animal,  almost  invisible  to  the 
eye,  gets  under  the  toe-nails,  and  there  acquires  the  size  of 
a  small  pea,  by  the  quick  increase  of  its  eggs,  which  are 
placed  in  a  bag  under  the  belly  of  the  insect.     The  chegoe, 
therefore,  distinguishes  what   the  most  delicate   chemical 
analysis  could  not  distinguish — the  cellular  membrane  and 
blood  of  a  European  from  those  of  a  Creole  white.     The 
mosquitoes,  on  the  contrary,  attack  equally  the  natives  and 
the  Europeans  ;  but  the  effects  of  the  sting  are  different  in 
the  two  races  of  men.     The  same  venomous  liquid,  de- 
posited in  the  skin  of  a  copper-colored  man  of  Indian  race, 
and  in  that  of  a  white  man  newly  landed,  causes  no  swell- 
ing in  the  former,  while  in  the  latter  it  produces  hard  blis- 
ters,  greatly  inflamed,    and   painful   for   several  days,    so 
different  is  the  action  on  the  epidermis,  according  to  the 
degree  of  irritability  of  the  organs  in  different  races  and 
different  individuals  ! 

U 


116  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

7.  The  Indians,  and  in  general  all  the  people  of  color, 
at  the  moment  of  being  stung,  suffer  like  the  whites,  al- 
though, perhaps,  with  less  intensity  of  pain.     In  the  day- 
time, and  even  when  laboring  at  the  oar,  the  natives,  in 
order  to  chase  the  insects,  are  continually  giving  one  an- 
other smart  slaps  with  the  palm  of  the  hand.     They  even 
strike  themselves  and  their  comrades  mechanically  during 
their  sleep.     The  violence  of  their  blows  reminds  one  of 
the  Persian  tale  of  the  bear  that  tried  to  kill  with  his  paw 
the  insects  on  the  forehead  of  his  sleeping  master. 

8.  When  you  are  exposed  day  and  night,  during  whole 
months,  to  the  torment  of  insects,  the  continual  irritation 
of  the  skin  causes  febrile  commotions  ;  and,  from  the  sym- 
pathy existing  between  the  dermoid  and  the  gastric  systems, 
injures  the  functions  of  the  stomach.     Digestion  first  be- 
comes difficult,  the  cutaneous  inflammation  excites  profuse 
perspirations,   an   unquenchable   thirst  succeeds,   and,   in 
persons  of  a  feeble  constitution,  increasing  impatience  is 
succeeded  by  depression  of  mind,   during  which  all  the 
pathogenic  causes  act  with  increased  violence.     It  is  neither 
the  dangers  of  navigating  in  small  boats,  the  savage  In- 
dians, nor  the  serpents,  crocodiles,  or  jaguars,  that  make 
Spaniards  dread  a  voyage  on  the  Orinoco  ;  it  is  the  perspira- 
tion and  the  flies. 

9.  Whoever  has  lived  long  in  countries  infested  by  mos- 
quitoes will  be  convinced,  as  we  were,  that  there  exists  no 
remedy  for  the  torment  of  these  insects.     The  Indians, 
covered  with  annotto,  bolar  earth,  or  turtle-oil,  are  not  pro- 
tected from  their  attacks.     Europeans,  recently  arrived  at 
the  Orinoco,  at  first  obtain  some  relief  by  covering  their 
faces  and  hands,  but  they  soon  feel  it  difficult  to  endure 
the  heat,  are  weary  of  being  condemned  to  complete  in- 
activity, and  finish  with  leaving  the  face  and  hands  uncov- 
ered.    Persons  who  would  renounce  all  kind  of  occupation 
during  the  navigation  of  these  rivers  might  bring  some 


TROPICAL  REGIONS,  117 

particular  garment  from  Europe  in  the  form  of  a  bag, 
under  which  they  could  remain  covered,  opening  it  only 
every  half-hour.  This  bag  should  be  distended  by  whale- 
bone hoops,  for  a  close  mask  and  gloves  would  be  perfectly 
insupportable. 

10.  We  have  just  seen  that  winged  insects,  collected  in 
society,  and  concealing  in  their  sucker  a  liquid  that  irritates 
the  skin,  are  capable  of  rendering  vast  countries  uninhabit- 
able. Other  insects  equally  small,  the  termites,  create  ob- 
stacles to  the  progress  of  civilization,  in  several  hot  and 
temperate  parts  of  the  equinoctial  zone,  that  are  difficult 
to  be  surmounted.  They  devour  paper,  pasteboard,  and 
parchment  with  frightful  rapidity,  utterly  destroying  rec- 
ords and  libraries.  Whole  provinces  of  Spanish-America 
do  not  possess  one  written  document  that  dates  a  hundred 
yeajs  back.  What  improvement  can  the  civilization  of 
nations  acquire  if  nothing  links  the  present  with  the  past ; 
if  the  depositaries  of  human  knowledge  must  be  repeatedly 
renewed ;  if  the  records  of  genius  and  reason  can  not  be 

transmitted  to  posterity  ? 

Humboldt. 


THE  BASHIKONAY  OR  ARMY  ANT. 

1.  Du   CIIAILLU,    in   his    travels    in    Eastern   Africa, 
encountered  this  ant,   and  gives  a  very  vivid  description 
of  it. 

2.  It  is  the  dread,  not  of  man  alone,  but  of  every  living 
thing  from  the  elephant  and  leopard  down  to  the  smallest 
insect.     A  half  inch  is  about  the  average  length  of  one  of 
these  ants,  though  some  of  them  are  found  of  twice  that 
length.     Individually  they  are  bold  ;  the  bulldog  has  not 
more  pluck  and  tenacity  of  grip.     But  their  great  power 


L18- 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


Return  of  Ants  after  a  Brittle  (magnified). 

lies  in  the  immense  armies  into  which  they  organize  them- 
selves, and  the  military  order  which  they  preserve.     When 


TROPICAL  REGIONS.  119 

on  the  march  they  go  in  columns  of  two  inches  broad,  but 
often  miles  in  length. 

3.  Du  Chaillu  once  saw  a  column  formed  in  close  order 
which  occupied  twelve  hours,  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  in 
passing  the  spot  from  which  he  watched  them ;  and,  as 
they  march  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  he  did  not  know 
how  long  the  column  had  been  passing  before  he  saw  it. 
All  along  the  line  were  larger  ants,  clearly  officers,  stand- 
ing outside  the  column  until  their  squads  had  passed,  when 
they  moved  on  and  joined  them.      How  many  millions 
upon  millions  there  were  in  this  line  it  would  be  idle  to 
attempt  to  estimate. 

4.  When,  on  the  march,  the  column  comes  to  a  small 
stream,  they  fling  across  it  a  living  bridge.     Selecting  a 
spot  where  the  branch  of  a  tree  reaches  nearly  over  to  one 
on  the  other  bank,  only  lower  down,  the  second  of  the 
pontoniers,  as  we  may  fairly  call  them,  with  his  fore  claws 
grasps  the  hind  claws  of  the  one  in  front,  and  lowers  him 
over  ;  a  third  does  the  same  by  the  second  ;  and  so  on  until 
this  living  chain  is  long  enough  to  reach  the  desired  point. 
Line  after  line  is  thus  stretched  until  a  bridge  is  formed 
wide  enough  for  the  whole  army  to  pass  over. 

5.  Imagine  the  strength  of  muscle  which  these  creatures 
must  possess  to  enable  them  to  maintain  their  grasp  for 
hours.     The  marching  column   throws  itself  into  line  of 
battle  with  wonderful  precision.     When  it  sweeps  over  the 
country,  nothing  living  can  stay  its  progress.     Du  Chaillu 
was  once  plodding  through  the  forest  in  search  of  game. 
All  at  once  he  was  startled  by  a  strange  sound.     It  was 
caused  by  the  rush  of  wild  beasts.     He  thought  he  caught 
a  glimpse  of  a  gorilla  ;  he  was  sure  he  heard  the  footsteps 
of  an  elephant ;  and  soon  after  a  herd  of  elephants  were 
rushing  through  the  forest.     Soon  the  air  grew  thick  with 
insects. 

G.  While  wondering  what  this  might  mean  he  felt  the 


120  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

torments  of  innumerable  bites,  and  in  an  instant  he  found 
himself  almost  covered  by  ants.  He  had  been  fallen  upon 
by  the  skirmishers  of  an  army  of  Bashikonay.  lie  set  off 
at  the  sharpest  run  in  the  direction  which  the  other  fugi- 
tives had  taken.  Fortunately  his  speed  was  greater  than 
that  of  the  ants  ;  and  as  soon  as  be  thought  himself  safe  he 
stripped  off  his  clothing.  It  fairly  swarmed  with  ants  who 
had  buried  themselves  in  the  garments,  striking  their 
pincers  clear  through  into  the  flesh  beneath.  They  never 
let  go  their  grip  until  they  have  taken  out  the  flesh.  Pull 
at  one,  his  body  is  separated  from  his  head,  and  the  jaws, 
if  we  may  so  call  them,  keep  their  hold.  He  had  just 
resumed  his  garments  when  the  Bashikonay  came  upon 
him,  and  he  again  took  to  flight,  never  stopping  until 
he  had  crossed  a  stream  and  taken  refuge  in  a  swamp 
beyond. 

7.  These  Bashikonay  oan  not  bear  the  heat  of  the  sun  ; 
and  hence  are  only  found  in  regions  covered  by  forests.     If 
on  the  march  they  come  to  an  open  place,  they  dig  a  tunnel 
four  or  five  feet  under  ground,  through  which  they  pass  to 
the  jungles  on  the  opposite  side. 

8.  When  they  enter  a  village  the  inhabitants  run  for 
their  lives.     In   an   incredibly   short   space  every  hut   is 
cleared  of  vermin,  and  the  only  trace  left  of  them  is  the 
bones  of  rats  and  mice,  and  the  horny  wing-cases  of  insects. 
Nothing  that  breathes  comes  amiss  to  them.     An  antelope 
which  had  been  shot  by  Du  Chaillu  was  picked  to  the  bones 
in  a  few  hours.     The  carcass  of  an   elephant  would  be 
cleared  away  quite  as  quickly  as  by  a  kraal  of  natives. 
They  sometimes  come  upon  a  huge  snake  lying  torpid, 
perhaps,  after  the  manner  of  his  species,  gorged  with  food. 
In  that  case  it  is  all  over  with  his  serpentine  majesty. 

9.  "  I  was  always  rejoiced,"  says  Du  Chaillu,  who  does 
not  like  snakes,  "  when  they  got  hold  of  a  serpent,  though 
these  are  pretty  shy,  and  manage  generally  to  get  out  of 


TROPICAL  REGIONS.  121 

the  way,  except  when  they  are  in  a  state  of  torpor."  But 
rats,  mice,  roaches,  centipedes,  scorpions,  spiders,  and  such 
small  pests  are  doomed.  A  swarm  of  ants  will  kill  a  rat  in 
a  minute  or  two,  and  devour  him  in  almost  as  short  a  space. 
Upon  the  whole,  they  are  a  blessing  to  the  human  race  in 
Africa,  by  keeping  down  the  vermin  which  would  other- 
wise render  the  country  uninhabitable. 

Du  Chaillu. 


PART  X. 
NATURAL  CURIOSITIES. 


THE    NATURAL    BRIDGE,  VIRGINIA. 

1.  "  COUSIN,  is  the  bridge  near  at  hand  ?  "   Porte  started 
up,  apologizing  for  his  forgetful  ness,  and  intimated  to  the 
ladies  that  if  they  would  walk  with  him  a  short  distance 
they  might  have  a  distant  glimpse  of  the  bridge  without 
delay.     Starting  from  the  tavern-door,  they  followed  the 
public  road  by  a  gentle  ascent  for  sixty  or  eighty  paces, 
when  they  came  to  a  gate.     Here  Crayon  entered,  and,  tak- 
ing Minnie  by  the  arm,  he  pushed  aside  the  branches  of  an 
arbor  vitae,  and  led  her  forward  several  paces  until  they 
reached  a  sort  of  rocky  barrier. 

2.  "  Look  down,  cousin  !" 

3.  She  shrieked,  and  would  have  fallen  but  for  the  sup- 
port of  her  companion,  who  hastily  withdrew  her  from  the 
spot  and  seated  her,  all  pale  and   trembling,  under  the 
shade  of  an  evergreen. 

4.  " What's  the  matter?    What  is  it? "inquired   the 
others,  with  alarmed  eagerness. 

5.  "  0  Porte,  how  could  you  do  it !     The  bridge  !  the 
bridge  !  we're  on  the  bridge  !     It  was  terrible  !  "     On  hear- 
ing this,  Fanny  and  Dora  looked  wildly  about,  as  if  seeking 
some  place  of  refuge,  and  finally  fled  through  the  gate  by 


NATURAL    CURIOSITIES.  123 

which  they  had  entered,,  and  only  halted  when  they  had 
gained  the  middle  of  the  highway. 

6.  "  Come  back,  you  silly  creatures  !" 

7.  "No,  no,  not  for  the  world  !  we  would  not  go  on  it 
again." 

8.  "  Don't  you  know  that  you  are  on  it  now  ?" 

9.  Dora  would  have  taken  to  her  heels  again,  but  Fanny 
stopped  her.     "Don't  mind  Forte's  quizzing,"  said  she. 
"Don't  you  see,  we  are  in  the  public  road,  and  not  on  any 
bridge?" 

10.  Porte   succeeded   in  capturing  the  runaways,  and, 
holding  them  securely  before  he  gave  the  information,  ex- 
plained to  them  that  they  then  stood  over  the  center  of  the 
arch,  and  yet  so  entirely  hidden  was  the  chasm  which  it 
spanned,  by  the  natural  parapet  of  rocks  and  trees,  that  he 
had  himself  seen  persons  pass  over  without  being  aware  of 
it.     Then,  by  dint  of  fair  promises,  he  induced  his  captors 
to  return  to  the  point  of  view. 

11.  "No  tricks,  brother;  no  surprises." 

12.  "Ton  honor,  none  ;  I  was  too  much  frightened  at 
the  result  of  my  last  to  try  another." 

13.  He  then  led  the  ladies,  one  at  a  time,  to  the  para- 
pet, where  on  their  hands  and  knees  they  ventured  to  look 
over  the  brink  into  that   awful  chasm,   which  few  have 
nerve  sufficient  to  view  from  an  upright  position.     Fanny 
attempted  it,  holding  to  her  brother's  arm,  but  found  she 
could  endure  it  only  for  a  moment,  when  her  dizzy  brain 
and  trembling  knees  warned  her  to  desist. 

14.  It  appearing  that  there  still  remained  several  hours 
of  daylight,  our  friends  determined  to  visit  the  bridge  be- 
low, where  they  were  assured  they  might  enjoy  the  gran- 
deur of  the  scene  unmixed  with  terror. 

15.  Following  their  leader  down  a  rapidly  descending 
path  which  wound  around  the  abrupt  point  of  a  hill,  they 
presently  entered  a  grove  of  noble  evergreens,  and  on  emerg- 


124  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

ing  all  stood  still  with  one  accord.  In  front  and  below 
them  was  the  yawning  gorge,  rugged  and  wild,  clothed  as 
it  were  in  somber  shadows,  through  which  the  light  glanced 
from  the  cascades  of  Cedar  Creek  with  faint  and  trembling 
sheen.  Above,  with  its  outline  o*f  tree  and  rock  cutting 
sharp  against  the  blue  sky,  rose  the  eternal  arch,  so  massive 
yet  so  light  it  springs,  uniting  its  tremendous  buttresses 
high  in  mid-air,  while  beneath  its  stern  shadow  the  eye  can 
mark,  in  fair  perspective,  rocks,  trees,  hill-tops,  and  distant 
sailing  clouds.  There  are  few  objects  in  nature  which  so 
entirely  fill  the  soul  as  this  bridge  in  its  unique  and  simple 
grandeur.  In  consideration  of  its  adaptation  to  circum- 
stances, the  simplicity  of  its  design,  the  sublimity  of  its 
proportions,  the  spectator  experiences  a  fullness  of  satisfac- 
tion which  familiarity  only  serves  to  increase  ;  and,  while 
that  sentiment  of  awe  inseparable  from  the  first  impression 
may  be  weakened  or  disappear  altogether,  wonder  and  ad- 
miration grow  with  time. 

16.  Continuing  their  descent,  our  friends  reached  the 
banks  of  the  stream  and  passed  beneath  the  arch,  pausing 
at  every  step  to  feast  their  eyes  upon  the  varying  aspects  in 
which  the  scene  was  presented.      Crossing   Cedar   Creek 
under  the  bridge,  they  gained  a  point  above  on  the  stream, 
whence  the  view  is  equally  fine  with  that  obtained  from 
the  descending  path  on  the  opposite  side.      The  flanking 
row  of  embattled  cliffs,  their   sides   wreathed  with  dark 
foliage  and  their  bases  washed  by  the  stream,  forms  a  noble 
addition  to  the  scene. 

17.  The  average  height  of  these  cliffs  is  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet,  the  height  of  the  bridge  about  two 
hundred  and  twenty.     The  span  of  the  arch  is  ninety-three 
feet,  its  average  width  eighty,  and  its  thickness  in  the  cen- 
ter fifty-five  feet.     It  does  not  cross  the  chasm  precisely 
at  right  angles,  but  in  an  oblique  direction,  like  what  en- 
gineers call  a  skew  bridge.     While  the  cliffs  are  perpendic- 


NATURAL    CURIOSITIES.  125 

ular  and  in  some  places  overhanging,  the  abutments  under 
the  arch  approach  until  their  bases  are  not  more  than  fifty 
feet  apart.  At  ordinary  times  the  stream  does  not  occupy 
more  than  half  this  space  ;  although,  from  its  traces  and 
water-marks,  it  frequently  sweeps  through  in  an  unbroken 
volume,  extending  from  rock  to  rock.  The  top  of  the 
bridge  is  covered  with  a  clay  soil  to  the  depth  of  several 
feet,  which  nourishes  a  considerable  growth  of  trees,  gen- 
erally of  the  evergreen  species.  These,  with  masses  of  rock, 
serve  to  form  natural  parapets  along  the  sides,  as  if  for 
greater  security,  and  entirely  obscure  the  view  of  the  chasm 
from  the  passer. 

18.  Next  day  our  friends  revisited  each  point  above  and 
below  the  bridge  with  increased  gratification,  while  Crayon 
employed  himself  in  the  attempt  to  portray  its  most  strik- 
ing features  upon  tinted  paper.  This,  he  avers,  can  not  be 
accomplished  by  mortal  hand ;  for,  while  he  acknowledges 
he  has  seen  several  sketches  that  rendered  the  general  out- 
line and  even  minute  details  with  great  accuracy,  he  never 
saw  one  that  conveyed,  even  in  a  remote  degree,  any  of  the 
majestic  grandeur  of  the  original.  One  of  the  most  satis- 
factory views  is  obtained  from  a  hill-side  about  half  a 
mile  below  the  bridge.  From  this  point  the  perfection  of 
the  arch  is  more  remarkable  ;  and  there  is  a  fine  view  of 
the  hill,  which,  a  short  distance  to  the  right  of  its  apex,  is 
cleft  to  its  base  by  this  singular  chasm. 

General  Strother. 


THE    MAMMOTH    CAVE. 

1.  THE  Mammoth  Cave  is  in  the  southwest  part  of 
Kentucky,  about  a  hundred  miles  from  Louisville,  and 
sixty  from  Harrodsburg  Springs.  The  word  cave  is  ill  cal- 
culated to  impress  the  imagination  with  an  idea  of  its  sur- 


126  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

passing  grandeur.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  subterranean  world, 
containing  within  itself  territories  extensive  enough  for 
half  a  dozen  German  principalities.  It  should  be  named 
Titan's  Palace  or  Cyclops'  Grotto.  It  lies  among  the 
Knobs,  a  range  of  hills,  which  border  an  extent  of  coun- 
try, like  highland  prairies,  called  the  Barrens.  The  sur- 
rounding scenery  is  lovely.  Fine  woods  of  oak,  hickory, 
and  chestnut,  clear  of  underbrush,  with  smooth,  verdant 
openings,  like  the  parks  of  English  noblemen. 

2.  As  you  come  opposite  the  entrance  of  the  cave  in 
summer,  the   temperature   changes   instantaneously  from 
about  85°  to  below  60°,  and  you  feel  chilled  as  if  by  the 
presence  of  an  iceberg.     In  winter,  the  effect  is  reversed. 
The  scientific  have  indulged  in  various  speculations  con- 
cerning the  air  of  this  cave.     It  is  supposed  to  get  com- 
pletely filled  with  cold  winds  during   the  long  blasts  of 
winter,  and,  as  there  is  no  outlet,  they  remain  pent  up  till 
the  atmosphere  without  becomes  warmer  than  that  within, 
when  there  is,  of  course,  a  continual  effort  toward  equilib- 
rium.    Why  the  air  within  the  cave  should  be  so  fresh, 
pure,  and  equable,  all  the  year  round,  even  in  its  deepest 
recesses,  is  not  easily  explained. 

3.  The  superabundance  of  oxygen  in  the  atmosphere 
operates   like   moderate  doses   of    exhilarating   gas.     The 
traveler  feels  a  buoyant  sensation,  which  tempts  him  to  run 
and  jump  and  leap  from  crag  to  crag,  and  bound  over  the 
stones  in  his  path. 

4.  The  wide  entrance  to  the  cavern  soon  contracts^  so 
that  but  two  can  pass  abreast.     This  path  continues  about 
fourteen  or  fifteen  rods,  and  emerges  into  a  wider  avenue, 
which  leads  directly  into  the  Rotunda,  a  vast  hall  compris- 
ing a  surface  of  eight  acres,  arched  with  a  dome  a  hundred 
feet  high  without  a  single  pillar  to  support  it.     It  rests  on 
irregular  ribs  of  dark  gray  rock,  in  massive  oval  wings, 
smaller  and  smaller,  one  seen  within  another,  till  they  ter- 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES.  127 

mi n ate  at  the  top.  Perhaps  this  apartment  impresses  the 
traveler  as  much  as  any  portion  of  the  cave,  because  from 
it  he  receives  his  first  idea  of  its  gigantic  proportions.  The 
vastness,  the  gloom,  the  impossibility  of  taking  in  the 
boundaries  by  the  light  of  lamps — all  these  produce  a  deep 
sensation  of  awe  and  wonder. 

5.  From  the  Kotunda,  you  pass  into  Audubon's  Avenue, 
from  eighty  to  a  hundred  feet  high,  with  galleries  of  rock 
on  each  side,  jutting  out  farther  and  farther,  till  they  nearly 
meet  at  top.     This  avenue  branches  out  into  a  vast  half- 
oval  hall  called  the  Church.     This  contains  several  project- 
ing galleries,  one  of  them  resembling  a  cathedral  choir. 
There  is  a  gap  in  the  gallery,  and  at  the  point  of  interrup- 
tion, immediately  above,  is  a  rostrum,  or  pulpit,  the  rocky 
canopy  of  which  juts  over.     The  guide  leads  up  from  the 
adjoining  galleries,  and  places  a  lamp  each  side  of  the  pul- 
pit, on  flat  rocks,  which  seem  made  for  the  purpose.     Five 
thousand  people  could  stand  in  this  subterranean  temple 
with  ease. 

6.  From  the  Church  you  pass  into  what  is  called  the 
Gothic  Gallery,  from  its  obvious  resemblance  to  that  style 
of  architecture.     Here  is  Mummy  Hall,  so  called  because 
several  mummies  have  been  found  seated  in  recesses  of  the 
rock. 

7.  From  Mummy  Hall  you  pass  into  Gothic  Avenue, 
where   the   resemblance  to  Gothic  architecture  very  per- 
ceptibly increases.     The  wall  juts  out  in  pointed  arches  and 
pillars,  on  the  sides  of  which  are  various  grotesque  combi- 
nations of  .rock.     One  is  an  elephant's  head.     The  tusk 
and  sleepy  eyes  are  quite  perfect. 

8.  As  you  pass  along,  the  Gothic  Avenue  narrows,  until 
you  come  to  a  porch  composed  of  the  first  separate  columns 
in  the  cave.     The  stalactite  and  stalagmite  formations  unite 
in  these  irregular  masses  of  brownish  yellow,  which,  when 
the  light  shines  through  them,  look  like  transparent  amber. 


128  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

They  are  sonorous  as  a  clear-toned  bell.  A  pendant  mass, 
called  the  Bell,  has  been  recently  broken,  by  being  struck 
too  powerfully. 

9.  The  porch  of  columns  leads  to  the  Gothic  Chapel, 
which  has  the  circular  form  appropriate  to  a  true  church. 
A  number  of  pure  stalactite  columns  fill  the  nave  with 
arches,  which  in  many  places  form  a  perfect  Gothic  roof. 
The  stalactites  fall  in  rich  festoons,  strikingly  similar  to  the 
highly-ornamented  chapel  of  Henry  VII.     Four  columns  in 
the  center  form  a  separate  arch  by  themselves,  like  trees 
twisted  into  a  grotto,  in  all  irregular  and  grotesque  shapes. 
Under  this  arch  stands  Wilkins's  Arm-chair,  a   stalactite 
formation  well  adapted  to  the  human  figure.     The  chapel 
is  the  most  beautiful  specimen  of  the  Gothic  in  the  cave. 
Two  or  three  of  the  columns  have  richly  foliated  capitals, 
like  the  Corinthian. 

10.  If  you  turn  back  to  the  main  avenue,  and  strike  off 
in  another  direction,  you  enter  a  vast  room,,  with  several 
projecting  galleries,  called  the  Ball   Room.     In  close  vi- 
cinity, as  if  arranged  by  the  severer  school  of  theologians, 
is  a  large  amphitheatre,  called  Satan's  Council  Chamber. 
From  the  center  rises  a  mountain  of  big  stones,  rudely  piled 
one  above  another,  in  a  gradual  slope,  nearly  one  hundred 
feet  high.     On  the  top  rests  a  huge  rock,  big  as  a  house, 
called  Satan's  Throne.     The  vastness,  the  gloom,  partially 
illumined  by  the  glare  of  lamps,  forcibly  remind  one  of 
Lucifer  on  his  throne  as  represented  by  Martin  in  his  il- 
lustrations of   Milton.     It  requires   little   imagination   to 
transform  the  uncouth  rocks  all  around  the  throne  into  at- 
tendant  demons.     In   this  Council    Chamber  the   rocks, 
with  singular  appropriateness,  change  from  an  imitation  of 
Gothic  architecture  to  that  of  the  Egyptian.     The  dark, 
massive  walls  resemble  a  series  of  Egyptian  tombs,  in  dull 
and  heavy  outline. 

11.  If  you  enter  one  of  the  caves  revealed  in  the  dis- 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES. 


129 


Mammoth  Dome. 


cance,  you  find  yourself  in  a  deep  ravine,  with  huge  piles 
of  gray  rock  jutting  out  more  and  more,  till  they  nearly 
meet  at  the  top.  Looking  upward  through  this  narrow 
aperture,  you  see,  high,  high  above  you,  a  vaulted  roof  of 


130  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

black  rock,  studded  with  brilliant  spar,  like  constellations 
in  the  sky  seen  at  midnight  from  the  deep  clefts  of  a 
mountain.  This  is  called  the  Star  Chamber. 

12.  But    the   greatest   wonder   in   this   region   of   the 
cave  is  Mammoth  Dome,  a  giant  among  giants.     It  is  so 
immensely  high  and  vast  that  three  of  the  most  powerful 
Bengal  Lights  illuminate  it  very  imperfectly.     That  por- 
tion of  the  ceiling  which  becomes  visible  is  three  hundred 
feet  above  your  head,  and  remarkably  resembles  the  aisles 
of  Westminster  Abbey.     It  is  supposed  that  the  top  of  this 
dome  is  near  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

13.  The  Mecca's  shrine  of  this  pilgrimage  is  Angelica's 
Grotto,  completely  lined  and  covered  with  the  largest  and 
richest  dog's-tooth  spar.     A  person  who  visited  the  place, 
a  few  years  since,  laid  his  sacrilegious  hands  upon  it  while 
the  guide's  back  was  turned  toward  him.     He  coolly  de- 
molished a  magnificent  mass  of  spar,  sparkling  most  con- 
spicuously on  the  very  center  of  the  arch,  and  wrote  his 
own  insignificant  name  in  its  place.     This  was  his  fashion 
of  securing  immortality  !     It  is  well  that  fairies  and  giants 
are  powerless  in  the  nineteenth  century,  else  had  the  indig- 
nant genii  of  the  cave  crushed  his  bones  to  impalpable 
powder. 

14.  Passing  behind  Satan's  Throne  by  a  narrow  ascend- 
ing path  you  come  to  avast  hall,  called  the  Deserted  Cham- 
ber.    From  this  you  may  enter  a  narrow  and  very  tortuous 
path,  called  the  Labyrinth,  which  leads  to  an  immense  split, 
or  chasm,  in  the  rocks.     Here  is  placed  a  ladder,  down  which 
you  descend  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet,  and  enter  a  nar- 
row cave  below,  which  brings  you  to  a  combination  of  rocks 
called  the  Gothic  Window.     You  stand  in  this  recess,  while 
the  guide  ascends  huge  cliffs  overhead,  and  kindles  Bengal 
Lights,  by  the  help  of  which  you  see,  two  hundred  feet 
above  you,  a  Gothic  dome  of  one  solid  rock,  perfectly  over- 
awing in  its  vastness   and  height.     Below  is  an  abyss  of 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES.  131 

darkness,  which  no  eye  but  the  Eternal  can  fathom.  If, 
instead  of  descending  the  ladder,  you  pass  straight  along- 
side the  chasm,  you  arrive  at  the  Bottomless  Pit,  beyond 
which  no  one  ever  ventured  to  proceed  till  1838.  There 
is  now  a  narrow  bridge  of  two  planks,  with  a  little  railing 
on  each  side,  but,  as  it  is  impossible  to  sustain  it  by  piers, 
travelers  must  pass  over  in  the  center,  one  by  one,  and  not 
touch  the  railing  lest  they  disturb  the  balance  and  over- 
turn the  bridge. 

15.  This  walk  brings  you  into  Pensico  Avenue.  Through 
this,  descending  more  and  more,  you  come  to  a  deep  arch, 
by  which  you  enter  the  Winding  Way,  a  strangely  irregu- 
lar and  zigzag  path,  so  narrow  that  a  very  stout  man  could 
not  squeeze  through.  In  some  places  the  rocks  at  the  sides 
are  on  a  line  with  your  shoulders,  then  piled  high  over 
your  head,  and  then  again  you  rise  above  and  overlook 
them  all,  and  see  them  heaped  behind  you,  like  the  mighty 
waves  of  the  Eed  Sea  parted  for  the  Israelites  to  pass 
through.  The  end  of  this  passage  is  so  low  and  narrow 
that  the  traveler  is  obliged  to  stoop  and  squeeze  himself 
through.  Suddenly  he  .passes  into  a  vast  hall,  called  the 
Great  Eelief  ;  and  this  leads  into  the  River  Hall,  at  the  side 
of  which  you  have  a  glimpse  of  a  small  cave,  called  the 
Smoke  House,  because  it  is  hung  with  rocks  perfectly  in  the 
shape  of  hams.  The  River  Hall  descends  like  the  slope  of 
a  mountain.  At  one  side  of  River  Hall  is  a  steep  precipice, 
over  which  you  can  look  down,  by  aid  of  blazing  torches, 
upon  a  broad,  black  sheet  of  water,  eighty  feet  below,  called 
the  Dead  Sea.  This  is  an  awfully  impressive  place,  the 
sights  and  sounds  of  which  do  not  easily  pass  from  memory. 
He  who  has  seen  it  will  have  it  vividly  brought  before  him 
by  Affieri's  description  of  Filippo  :  "  Only  a  transient 
word  or  act  gives  us  a  short  and  dubious  glimmer,  that  re- 
veals to  us  the  abysses  of  his  being ;  dark,  lurid,  and  ter- 
rific, as  the  throat  of  the  infernal  pool."  As  you  pass 

10 


132  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

along,  you  hear  the  roar  of  invisible  waterfalls,  and  at  the 
foot  of  the  slope  the  river  Styx  lies  before  you,  deep  and 
black,  over-arched  with  rock.  .The  first  glimpse  of  it 
brings  to  mind  the  descent  of  Ulysses  into  hell. 

"  Where  the  dark  rock  o'erhangs  the  infernal  lake, 
And  mingling  streams  eternal  murmurs  make." 

Across  these  unearthly  waters  the  guide  can  convey  but 
two  passengers  at  once,  and  these  sit  motionless  in  the 
canoe,  with  feet  turned  apart,  so  as  not  to  disturb  the  bal- 
ance. Three  lamps  are  fastened  to  the  prow,  the  images  of 
which  are  reflected  in  the  dismal  pool. 

16.  If  you  are  impatient  of  delay,  or  eager  for  new  ad- 
ventures, you  can  leave  your  companions  lingering  about 
the  shore  and  cross  the  Styx  by  a  dangerous  bridge  of  preci- 
pices overhead.  In  order  to  do  this,  you  must  ascend  a 
steep  cliff  and  enter  a  cave  above,  from  an  egress  of  which 
you  find  yourself  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  eighty  feet  above 
its  surface,  commanding  a  view  of  those  passing  in  the 
boat,  and  those  waiting  on  the  shore.  Seen  from  this 
height,  the  lamps  in  the  canoe  glare  like  fiery  eyeballs ; 
and  the  passengers  sitting  there,  so  hushed  and  motionless, 
look  like  shadows.  The  scene  is  so  strangely  funereal  and 
spectral  that  it  seems  as  if  the  Greeks  must  have  witnessed 
it  before  they  imagined  Charon  conveying  ghosts  to  the 
dim  regions  of  Pluto.  Your  companions,  thus  seen,  do 
indeed — 

"  Skim  along  the  dusky  glades 
Thin  airy  shoals,  and  visionary  shades." 

If  you  turn  your  eye  from  the  canoe  to  the  parties  of  men 
and  women  whom  you  left  waiting  on  the  shore,  you  will 
see  them,  by  the  gleam  of  their  lamps,  scattered  in  pic- 
turesque groups,  looming  out  in  bold  relief  from  the  dense 
darkness  around  them. 


NATURAL    CURIOSITIES.  133 

17.  When  you  have  passed  the  Styx  you  soon  meet 
another  stream,  appropriately  called  Lethe.  The  echoes 
are  absolutely  stunning.  A  single  voice  sounds  like  a  pow- 
erful choir  ;  and  could  an  organ  be  played  it  would  deprive 
the  hearer  of  his  senses.  When  you  have  crossed,  you  enter 
a  high  level  hall,  named  the  Great  Walk,  half  a  mile  of 
which  brings  you  to  another  river,  called  the  Jordan.  In 
crossing  this,  the  rocks,  in  one  place,  descend  so  low  as  to 
leave  only  eighteen  inches  for  the  boat  to  pass  through. 
Passengers  are  obliged  to  double  up,  and  lie  on  each  oth- 
er's shoulders,  till  this  gap  is  passed.  This  uncomforta- 
ble position  is,  however,  of  short  duration,  and  you  sud- 
denly emerge  to  where  the  vault  of  the  cave  is  more  than  a 
hundred  feet  high.  In  the  fall  of  the  year  this  river  often 
rises,  almost  instantaneously,  over  fifty  feet  above  low  water 
mark,  a  phenomenon  supposed  to  be  caused  by  heavy  rains 
from  the  upper  earth.  On  this  account  autumn  is  an  un- 
favorable season  for  those  who  wish  to  explore  the  cave 
throughout.  If  parties  happen  to  be  caught  oil  the  other 
side  of  Jordan,  when  the  sudden  rise  takes  place,  a  boat 
conveys  them  on  the  swollen  waters  to  the  level  on  an  up- 
per cave,  so  low  that  they  are  obliged  to  enter  on  hands 
and  knees  and  crawl  through.  This  place  is  called  Purga- 
tory. People  on  the  other  side,  aware  of  their  danger,  have 
a  boat  in  readiness  to  receive  them.  The  guide  usually 
sings  while  crossing  the  Jordan,  and  his  voice  is  reverber- 
ated by  a  choir  of  sweet  echoes.  The  only  animals  ever 
found  in  the  cave  are  fish,  with  which  this  stream  abounds. 
They  are  perfectly  white,  and  without  eyes ;  at  least  they 
have  been  subjected  to  a  careful  scientific  examination,  and 
no  organ  similar  to  an  eye  can  be  discovered.  It  would 
indeed  be  a  useless  appendage  to  creatures  that  dwell  for- 
ever in  Cimmerian  darkness.  But,  as  usual,  the  acuteness 
of  one  sense  is  increased  by  the  absence  of  another.  These 
fish  are  undisturbed  by  the  most  powerful  glare  of  light, 


134  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

but  they  are  alarmed  at  the  slightest  agitation  of  the  water  , 
it  is  therefore  exceedingly  difficult  to  catch  them. 

18.  From  the  Jordan  you  pass  through  Silliman's  Ave- 
nue and  Wellington's  Gallery  to  Cleveland's  Avenue,  the 
crowning  wonder  and  glory  of  this  subterranean  world.    At 
this  entrance  of  the  avenue  you  find  yourself  surrounded  by 
overhanging  stalactites,   in  the   form  of   rich   clusters   of 
grapes,  transparent  to  the  light,  hard  as  marble,  and  round 
and  polished,  as  if  done  by  a  sculptor's  hand.      This  is 
called  Mary's  Vineyard;  and  from  it  an  entrance  to  the 
right  brings  you  into  a  perfectly  naked  cave,  whence  you 
suddenly  pass  into  a  large  hall,  with  magnificent  columns 
and  rich  festoons  of  stalactite,  where  stands  a  mass  of  sta- 
lagmite, shaped  like  a  sarcophagus,  in  which  is  an  opening 
like  a  grave.    A  Roman  Catholic  priest  first  discovered  this, 
about  a  year  ago,  and  with  fervent  enthusiasm  exclaimed, 
' i  The  Holy  Sepulchre  ! "  a  name  which  it  has  since  borne. 

19.  To  the  left  of  Mary's  Vineyard  is  an  inclosure  like 
an  arbor,  the  ceiling  and  sides  of  which  are  studded  with 
snow-white  crystallized  gypsum,  in  the  form  of  all  sorts  of 
flowers.     It  is  impossible  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  exquisite 
beauty  and  infinite  variety  of  these  delicate  formations.    In 
some  places  roses  and  lilies  seem  cut  in  the  rock  in  bas- 
relief  ;  in  others  a  graceful  bell  rises  on  a  long  stalk,  so 
slender  that  it  bends  at  a  breath.     One  is  an  admirable  im- 
itation of  Indian  corn  in  tassel,  the  silky  fibers  as  fine  and 
flexible  as  can  be  imagined  ;  another  is  a  group  of  ostrich 
plumes,  so  downy  that  a  zephyr  waves  it.     In  some  nooks 
were  little  parks  of  trees,  in  others  gracefully-curled  leaves 
like  the  acanthus  rose  from  the  very  bosom  of  the  rock. 
Near  this  room  is  the  Snow  Chamber,  the  roof  and  sides  of 
which  are  covered  with  particles  of  brilliant  white  gypsum, 
as  if  snow-balls  had  been  dashed  all  over  the  walls.     In 
another  apartment  the  crystals  are  all  in  the  form  of  ro- 
settes.    In  another,  called  Rebecca's  Garland,  the  flowers 


NATURAL    CURIOSITIES.  135 

have  all  arranged  themselves  into  wreaths.  One  could  im- 
agine that  some  antediluvian  giant  had  here  imprisoned 
some  fair  daughter  of  earth,  and  then,  in  pity  for  her  lone- 
liness, had  employed  fairies  to  deck  her  bowers  with  all  the 
splendor  of  earth  and  ocean. 

20.  From  Rebecca's  Garland  you  come  into  a  vast  hall, 
of  great  height,  covered  with  shining  drops  of  gypsum,  like 
oozing  water  petrified.     In  the  center  is  a  large  rock,  four 
feet  high,  and  level  at  the  top,  round  which  several  hun- 
dred people  can  sit  conveniently.     This  is  called  Cornelia's 
Table,  and  is  frequently  used  for  parties  to  dine  upon.     In 
this  hall  and  in  Wellington's  Gallery  are  deposits  of  fibrous 
gypsum,  snow-white,  dry,  'and  resembling  asbestos. 

21.  From  the  hall  of  congealed  drops  you  may  branch 
off  into  a  succession  of  small  caves,  called  Cecilia's  Grottoes. 
Here  nearly  all  the  beautiful  formations  of  the  surrounding 
caves — such  as  grapes,  flowers,  stars,  leaves,  coral,  etc. — 
may  be  found  so  low  that  you  can  conveniently  examine 
their  minutest  features.     One  of  these  little  recesses,  cov- 
ered with  sparkling  spar,  set  in  silvery  gypsum,  is  called 
Diamond  Grotto.     Alma's  Bowers  closes  this  series  of  won- 
derful formations. 

22.  In  most  regions  of  the  cave  it  is  hazardous  to  lose 
sight  of  the  guide.     If  you  think  to  walk  straight  ahead, 
even  for  a  few  rods,  and  then  turn  round  and  return  to 
him,  you  will  find  it  next  to  impossible  to  do  so.     So  many 
paths  come  in  at  acute  angles  ;  they  look  so  much  alike  ; 
and  the  light  of  a  lamp  reveals  them  so  imperfectly  that 
none  but  the  practiced  eye  of  a  guide  can  disentangle  their 
windings.     A  gentleman  who  retraced  a  few  steps  near  the 
entrance  of  the  cave,  to  find  his  hat,  lost  his  way  so  com- 
pletely that  he  was  not  found  for  forty-eight  hours,  though 
twenty  or  thirty  people  were  in  search  of  him.     Parties 
are  occasionally  mustered  and  counted,  to  see  that  none 
are  missing.     Should  such  an  accident  happen,  there  is  no 


136  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER, 

danger  if  the  wanderer  will  remain  stationary,  for  he  will 
soon  be  missed,  and  a  guide  sent  after  him. 

23.  One  hundred  and  sixty-five  avenues  have  been  dis- 
covered in  Mammoth  Cave,  the  walk  through  which  is 
estimated  at  about  three  hundred  miles.  In  some  places 
you  descend  more  than  a  mile  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 
The  poetic-minded  traveler,  after  he  has  traced  all  the 
labyrinths,  departs  with  lingering  reluctance.  As  he  ap- 
proaches the  entrance,  daylight  greets  him  with  new  and 
startling  beauty.  If  the  sun  shines  on  the  verdant  sloping 
hill  and  the  waving  trees  seen  through  the  arch,  they 
seem  like  fluid  gold  ;  if  mere  daylight  rests  upon  them, 
they  resemble  molten  silver.  This  remarkable  richness  of 
appearance  is  doubtless  owing  to  the  contrast  with  the 
thick  darkness,  to  which  the  eye  has  been  so  long  accus- 
tomed. 

L.  Maria  Child. 


FALLS   OF   THE   ZAMBESI. 

1.  WE  struck  the  river  some  miles  above  the  falls,  and 
floated  down  in  a  canoe  and  landed  on  Garden  Island, 
situated  on  the  lip  of  the  chasm  near  the  center  of  the 
river. 

2.  On  reaching  that  lip,  and  peering  over  the  giddy 
height,  the  wondrous  and  unique  character  of  the  magnifi- 
cent cascade  at  once  burst  upon  us.     It  is  rather  a  hope- 
less task  to  convey  an  idea  of  it  in  words,  since,  as  was 
remarked  on  -the  spot,  an  accomplished  artist,  even  by  a 
number  of  views,  could  but  impart  a  faint  impression  of 
the  glorious  scene.     The  probable  mode  of  its  formation 
may  perhaps  help  to  the  conception  of  its  peculiar  shape. 

3.  The  Victoria  Falls   have   been  formed  by  a  crack 
right  across  the  river,  in  the  hard,  black,  basaltic  rock, 
which  there  forms  the  bed  of  the  Zambesi.     The  lips  of 


NATURAL    CURIOSITIES,  '137 

the  crack  are  still  sharp,  save  about  three  feet  of  the  edge 
over  which  the  river  rolls.  The  walls  go  sheer  down  from* 
the  lips  without  any  projecting  crag  or  symptom  of  strati- 
fication or  dislocation.  When  the  mighty  rift  occurred, 
no  change  of  level  took  place  in  the  two  parts  of  the  bed 
of  the  river  thus  rent  asunder ;  consequently,  in  coming 
down  the  river .  to  Garden  Island,  the  water  suddenly  dis- 
appears, and  we  see  the  opposite  side  of  the  cleft,  with 
grass  and  trees  growing  where  once  the  river  ran,  on  the 
same  level  as  that  part  of  its  bed  on  which  we  sail. 

4.  The  first  crack  is,  in  length,  a  few  yards  more  than 
the  breadth  of  the  Zambesi,   which  by  measurement  we 
found  to  be  a  little  over  1,860  yards,  but  this  number  we 
resolved  to  retain  as  indicating  the  year  in  which  the  fall 
was  for  the   first   time   carefully  examined.      The   main 
stream  here  runs  nearly  north  and  south,  and  the  cleft 
across  it  is  nearly  east  and  west.     The  depth  of  the  rift 
was  measured  by  lowering  a  line,  to  the  end  of  which  a 
few  bullets  and  a  foot  of  cotton  cloth  were  tied.     One  oi 
us  lay  with  his  head  over  a  projecting  crag,  and  watched 
the  descending  calico,  till,  after  his  companions  had  paid 
out  310  feet,  the  weight  rested  on  a  sloping  projection, 
probably  50  feet  from  the  water  below,  the  actual  bottom 
being  still  farther  down. 

5.  On  measuring  the  width  of   this   narrow  cleft  by 
sextant,  it  was  found  at  Garden  Island,  its  narrowest  part, 
to  be  eighty  yards,  and  at  its  broadest  somewhat  more. 
Into  this  chasm,  of  twice  the  depth  of  Niagara  Falls,  the 
river,  a  full  mile  wide,  rolls  with  a  deafening  roar ;  and 
this  is  Mosi-oa-tunya,  or  the  Victoria  Falls. 

6.  Looking  from  Garden  Island  down  to  the  bottom 
of  the  abyss,  nearly  half  a  mile  of  water,  which  has  fallen 
over  that  portion  of  the  falls  to  our  right,  or  west  of  our 
point  of  view,  is  seen  collected  in  a  narrow  channel  twenty 
or  thirty  yards  wide,  and  flowing  at  exactly  right  angles 


138  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

to  its  previous  course,  to  our  left ;  while  the  other  half,  oi 
that  which  fell  over  the  eastern  portion  of  the  falls,  is 
seen  in  the  left  of  the  narrow  channel  below,  coming  to- 
ward our  right.  Both  waters  unite  midway,  in  a  fearful 
boiling  whirlpool,  and  find  an  outlet  by  a  crack  situated  at 
right  angles  to  the  fissure  of  the  falls.  This  outlet  is 
about  1,170  yards  from  the  western  side  of  the  chasm,  and 
some  600  from  the  eastern  end  ;  the  whirlpool  is  at  its 
commencement. 

7.  The  Zambesi,  now  apparently  not  more  than  twenty 
or  thirty  yards  wide,  rushes  and  surges  south  through  the 
narrow  escape-channel  for  130  yards ;  then  enters  a  second 
chasm  somewhat  deeper,  and  nearly  parallel  with  the  first. 
Abandoning  the  bottom  of  the  eastern  half  of  this  second 
chasm  to  the  growth  of  large  trees,  it  turns  sharply  off  to 
the  west,  and  forms  a  promontory,  with  the  escape-channel 
at  its  point,  of  1,170  yards  long,  and  416  broad  at  the 
base. 

8.  After  reaching  this   base   the  river   runs   abruptly 
round  the  head  of  another  promontory,  and  flows  away  to 
the  east,  in  a  third  chasm  ;  then  glides  round  a  third  prom- 
ontory, much  narrower  than  the  rest,  and  away  back  to  the 
west,  in  a  fourth  chasm  ;  and  we  could  see  in  the  distance 
that  it  appeared  to  round  still  another  promontory,  and 
bend  once  more  in  another  chasm  toward  the  east.     In  this 
gigantic  zigzag,  yet  narrow  trough,  the  rocks  are  all  so 
sharply  cut  and  angular  that  the  idea  at  once  rises  that  the 
hard  basaltic  trap  must  have  been  riven  into  its  present 
shape  by  a  force  acting  from  beneath,  and  that  this  proba- 
bly took  place  when  the  ancient  inland  seas  were  let  off  by 
similar  fissures  nearer  the  ocean. 

9.  The  tops  of  the  promontories  are  in  general  flat, 
smooth,  and  studded  with  trees.     The  first,  with  its  base 
on  the  east,  is  at  once  so  narrow  that  it  would  be  dangerous 
to  walk  to  its  extremity.     On  the  second,   however,   we 


NATURAL    CURIOSITIES.  139 

found  a  broad  rhinoceros-path  and  a  hut ;  but,  unless  the 
builder  were  a  hermit,  with  a  pet  rhinoceros,  we  can  not 
conceive  what  beast  or  man  ever  went  there  for.  On  reach- 
ing the  apex  of  this  second  eastern  promontory  we  saw  the 
great  river,  of  a  deep  sea-green  color,  now  sorely  compressed, 
gliding  away  at  least  400  feet  below  us. 

Livingston. 


CORAL    ISLANDS. 

1.  IT  is  a  singular  circumstance,  arising  from  the  in- 
stability of  the  crust  of   the  earth,  that  all  the  smaller 
tropical  pelagic  islands  in  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans 
are  either  volcanic  or  coralline  ;  and  it  is  a  startling  fact 
that  in  most  cases  where  there  are  volcanoes  the  land  is 
rising  by  slow  and  almost  imperceptible  degrees  above  the 
ocean,   where,  as  there   is  every  reason   to  believe,   those 
vast  spaces,  studded  with  coral  islands  or  atolls,  are  actually 
sinking  below  it,  and  have  been  for  some  time. 

2.  There  are  four  different  kinds  of  coral  formations  in 
the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans,  all  entirely  produced  by  the 
growth  of  organic  beings  and  their  detritus — namely,  la- 
goon-islands or  atolls,  encircling  reefs,  barrier  reefs,  and  coral 
fringes.     They  are  all  nearly  confined  to  the  tropical  re- 
gions ;  the  atolls  to  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans  alone. 

3.  An  atoll  or  lagoon-island  consists  of  a  chaplet  or  ring 
of  coral  inclosing  a  lagoon  or  portion  of  the  ocean  in  its 
center.     The  average  breadth  of  the  part  of  the  ring  above 
the  surface  of  the  sea  is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  oftener 
less,  and  it  seldom  rises  higher  than  from  six  to  ten  or 
twelve  feet  above  the  waves.     Hence  the  lagoon-islands  are 
not  discernible,  even  at  a  very  small  distance,  unless  they  are 
covered  with  the  cocoa-nut  palm,  or  the  pandanus,  which 
is  frequently  the  case, 


140  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

4.  On  the  outer  side  this  ring  or  circlet  shelves  down 
to  the  distance  of  one  hundred  or  two  hundred  yards  from 
its  edge,   so  that  the  sea  gradually  deepens  to  twenty-five 
fathoms,  beyond  which  the  sides  plunge  at  once  into  the 
unfathomable  depths  of  the  ocean,  with  a  more  rapid  de- 
scent than  the  cone  of  any  volcano.     Even  at  the  small 
distance  of  some  hundred  yards  no  bottom  has  been  found 
with  a  sounding-line  a  mile  and  a  half  long.     All  the  coral 
at  a  moderate  depth  below  water  is  alive,  all  above  is  dead, 
being  the  detritus  of  the  living  part,  washed  up  by  the 
curf,  which  is  so  tremendous  on  the  windward  side  of  the 
tropical  islands  of  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans  that  it  is 
often  heard  miles  off,  and  is  frequently  the  first  warning 
to  seamen  of  their  approach  to  an  atoll. 

5.  On   the   lagoon-side,  where  the  water  is  calm,  the 
bounding  ring  or  reef  shelves  into  it  by  a  succession  of 
ledges,  also  of  living  coral,  though  not  of  the  same  species 
with  those  which  build  the  exterior  wall  and  the  founda- 
tions of  the  whole  ring.     The  perpetual  change  of  water 
brought  into  contact  with  the  external  coral  by  the  breakers 
probably  supplies  them  with  more  food  than  they  could 
obtain  in  a  quieter  sea,  which  may  account  for  their  more 
luxuriant  growth.     At   the   same   time  they  deprive  the 
whole  of  the  coral  in  the  interior  of  the  most  nourishing 
part  of  their  food,  because  the  still  water  in  the  lagoon, 
being  supplied  from  the  exterior  by  openings  in  the  ring, 
ceases  to  produce  the  hardier  corals  ;  and  species  of  more 
delicate  forms  and  of  much  slower  growth  take  place. 

6.  The  coral  is  of  the  most  varied  and  delicate  struct- 
ure, and  of  the  most  varied  and  beautiful  tints  ;  dark-brown, 
vivid  green,  rich  purple,  pink,  deep  blue,  peach-color,  yel- 
low, with  dazzling  white,  contrasted  with  deep  shadows, 
shine  through  the  limpid  water,  while  fish  of  the  most  gor- 
geous hues  swim  along  the  branching  coral,  which  are  of 
many  different  kinds,  though  all  combine  jn  the  structure  of 


NATURAL    CURIOSITIES. 


141 


these  singular  islands.  Lagoon-islands  are  sometimes  cir- 
cular, but  more  frequently  oval  or  irregular  in  their  form. 
Sometimes  they  are  solitary  or  in  groups,  but  they  occur 


Varieties  of  Coral. 

most  frequently  in  elongated  archipelagoes  with  the  atolls 
elongated  in  the  same  direction.  The  grouping  of  atolls 
bears  a  perfect  analogy  to  the  grouping  of  the  archipelagoes 
of  ordinary  islands. 

7.  The  size  of  these  fairy  rings  of  the  ocean  varies  from 
two  to  ninety  miles  in  diameter,  and  islets  are  frequently 
formed  on  the  coral  rings  by  the  washing  up  of  the  detri- 
tus, for  they  are  so  low  that  the  waves  break  over  them  in 
high  tides  or  storms.  They  have  openings  or  channels  in 
their  circuit,  generally  on  the  leeward  side,  where  the  tide 
enters,  and  by  these  ships  may  sail  into  the  lagoons,  which 


H2  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

are  excellent  harbors,  and  even  on  the  surface  of  the  circlet 
or  reef  itself  there  are  occasionally  boat-channels  between 
the  islets. 

8.  Barrier-reefs  are  of  precisely  the  same  structure,  dif- 
fering in  their  position  with  regard  to  the  land.     A  barrier- 
reef  off  the  northeast  coast  of  the  Continent  of  Australia  is 
the  grandest  coral  formation  existing.     Rising  at  once  from 
an  unfathomable  ocean,  it  extends  one  thousand  miles  along 
the  coast,  with  a  breadth  varying  from  two  hundred  yards 
to  a  mile,  and  at  an  average  distance  of  twenty  miles  from 
the  shore,  increasing  sometimes  to  seventy  miles.    The  great 
arm  of  the  sea  included  between  it  and  the  land  is  safely 
navigable  throughout  its  whole  length,  with  a  few  trans- 
verse openings  where  ships  can  enter.     The  reef  is  nearly 
twelve  hundred  miles  long. 

9.  The  long  ocean-swell,  being  suddenly  impeded  by  this 
barrier,  lifts  itself  in  one  great,  continuous  line  of  deep-blue 
water,  which,  curling  over,  falls  on  the  edge  of  the  reef  in 
an  unbroken  cataract  of  dazzling  white  foam.     Each  line  of 
breaker  runs  often  one  or  two  miles  in  length,  with  not  a 
perceptible  gap  in  its  continuity.     There  is  a  simple  grand-' 
eur  and  display  of  power  and  beauty  in  this  scene  that  rises 
even  to  sublimity.     The  unbroken  roar  of  the  surf,  with  its 
regular  pulsation  of  thunder,  as  each  succeeding  swell  falls 
first  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  reef,  is  almost  deafening,  yet 
so  deep-toned  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  slightest  nearer 
and  sharper  sound. 

10.  There  are  strong  reasons  for  believing  that  a  conti- 
nent once  occupied  a  great  part  of  the  tropical  Pacific, 
some  part  of  which  subsided  by  slow  and  imperceptible  de- 
grees.    As  portions  of  it  gradually  sank  below  the  surface 
of  the  deep,  the  tops  of  mountains  and  table-lands  would 
remain  as  islands  in  magnitude  and  elevation,  and  would 
form  archipelagoes  elongated  in  the  direction  of  the  moun- 
tain chains.     Now,  the  coral-animal  which  constructs  the 


NATURAL    CURIOSITIES.  143 

outward  wall  and  mass  of  the  reefs  never  builds  laterally, 
and  can  not  exist  at  a  greater  depth  than  twenty-five  or 
thirty  fathoms.  Hence,  if  it  began  to  lay  the  foundation 
of  its  reef  on  the  submerged  flanks  of  an  island,  it  would 
be  obliged  to  build  its  wall  upward  in  proportion  as  the 
island  sank  down,  so  that  at  length  a  lagoon  would  be 
formed  between  it  and  the  land. 

11.  As  the  subsidence  continued,  the  lagoon  would  in- 
crease, the  island  would  diminish,  and  the  base  of  the  coral- 
reef  would  sink  deeper  and  deeper,  while  the  animal  would 
always  keep  its  top  just  below  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  till 
at  length  the  island  would  entirely  disappear  and  a  perfect 
atoll  be  left.  If  the  island  were  mountainous,  each  peak 
would  form  a  separate  island  in  the  lagoon,  and  the  encir- 
cled islands  would  have  different  forms,  which  the  reefs 
would  follow  continuously.  This  theory  perfectly  explains 
the  appearance  of  the  lagoon-islands  and  barrier-reefs,  the 
continuity  of  the  reef,  the  islands  in  the  middle  of  the  la- 
goon, the  different  distances  of  the  reefs  from  them,  and 
the  forms  of  the  archipelago,  so  exactly  similar  to  the  archi- 
pelagoes of  ordinary  islands,  all  of  which  are  but  the  tops 
of  submerged  mountain-chains,  and  generally  partake  of 
their  elongated  forms. 

Mary  Somcrville. 


THE   GEYSERS   OF   ICELAND. 

1.  MANY  travelers  have  been  compelled  to  wait  a  week 
for  an  eruption  of  the  Great  Geyser,  though  the  interval 
between  the  eruptions  is  not  usually  more  than  three  days. 
A  good  deal  depends  upon  the  previous  state  of  the  weather, 
whether  it  has  been  wet  or  dry.  Sometimes  the  eruptions 
take  place  within  twenty-four  hours,  but  not  often.  The 
Great  Geyser  is  a  very  capricious  old  gentleman,  take  him 


144  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

as  you  will.  He  goes  up  or  keeps  quiet  just  to  suit  him- 
self, and  will  not  put  himself  the  least  out  of  the  way  to 
oblige  anybody. 

2.  In  former  times  the  eruptions  were  much  more  fre- 
quent than  they  are  now,  occurring  at  least  every  six  hours, 
and  often  at  periods  of  only  three  or  four.    Gradually  they 
have  been  diminished  in  force  and  frequency,  and  it  is  not 
improbable  that  they  will  cease  altogether  before  the  lapse 
of  another  century.    According  to  the  measurements  given 
by  various  travelers,  among  whom  may  be  mentioned  Dr. 
Henderson,  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  Forbes,  Metcalfe,  and 
Lord  Dufl'erin,  the  height  to  which  the  water  ejected  varies 
from  eighty  to  two  hundred  feet.     It  is  stated  that  these 
geysers  did  not  exist  prior  to  the  fifteenth  century  ;  and 
one  eruption — that  of   1772 — is  estimated  by  Olsen  and 
Paulsen  to  have  reached  the  extraordinary  height  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty  feet.     All  these  measurements  appear  to 
me  to  be  exaggerated. 

3.  Ascending  a  slope  of  dry  incrusted  earth  of  a  red 
and  yellowish  color,  we  first  came  upon  the  Little  Geyser, 
a  small  orifice  in  the  ground,  from  which  a  column  of 
steam  arose.     A  bubbling  sound  as  of  boiling  water  issued 
from  the  depths  below,  but  otherwise  it  presented  no  re- 
markable phenomena.     In  a  few  minutes  more  we  stood 
in  the  middle  of  a  sloping  plateau  of  some  half  a  mile  in 
circuit,  which  declines  into  an  extensive  valley  on  the  right. 
Within  the  limits  of  this  area  there  are  some  forty  springs, 
and  fissures  which  emit  hot  water  and  vapors.     None  of 
them  are  of  any  considerable  size,  except  the  Great  Geyser, 
the  Strokhr,  and  the  Little  Geyser.     The  earth  seems  to 
be  a  mere  crust  of  sulphurous  deposits  and  burned  clay 
and  rotten  trap-rock,  and  is  destitute  of  vegetation  except 
in  a  few  spots,  where  patches  of  grass  and  moss  present  a 
beautiful  contrast  to  the  surrounding  barrenness.     In  its 
quiescent  state  the  scene  was  not  so  striking  as  I  had  ex- 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES.  145 

pected,  though  the  whirling  volumes  of  smoke  that  issued 
from  the  ground  in  every  direction  filled  my  mind  with 
strong  premonitions  of  what  might  take  place  at  any  moment. 

4.  The  guide  then  took  the  horses  to  a  pasture  up  the 
valley.      I  amused  myself  making  a  few  sketches  of  the 
surrounding  objects,  and  thinking  how  strange  it  was  to 
be  here  all  alone  at  the  geysers  of  Iceland.     How  many  of 
my  friends  knew  where  I  was  ?     Not  one,  perhaps.     And 
should  all  the  geysers  blow  up  together  and  boil  me  on  the 
spot,  what  would  people  generally  think  of  it  ?     Or,  sup- 
pose the  ground  were  to  give  way  and  swallow  me  up,  what 
difference  would  it  make  in  the  price  of  consols  or  the 
temperature  of  the  ocean  ? 

5.  When  Zoega  came  back,  he  said,  if  I  pleased,  we 
would  now  go  to  work  and  cut  sods  for  the  Strokhr.     It 
was  a  favorable  time  "to  make  him  heave  up."     The  way 
to  make  him  do  that  was  to  make  him  sick.     They  didn't 
agree  with  his  stomach.     Every  gentleman  who  came  there 
made  it  a  point  to  stir  him  up.     He  was  called  the  Strokhr 
because  he  churned   things  that  were   thrown  down  his 
throat ;  and  Strokhr  means  churn.     I  was  very  anxious  to 
see  the  performance  suggested  by  Zoega,  and  readily  con- 
sented to  assist  him  in  getting  the  sods. 

6.  The  Strokhr  lay  about  a  hundred  yards  from  our 
tent,  nearly  in  a  line  between  the  Great  and  Little  Geysers. 
Externally  it  presents  no  very  remarkable  feature,  being 
nothing  more  than  a  hole  in  the  bed  of  rocks,  about  five 
feet  in  diameter,  and  slightly  funnel-shaped  at  the  orifice. 
Standing  upon  the  edge,  one  can  see  the  water  boiling  up 
and  whirling  over  about  twenty  feet  below.     A  hollow, 
growling  noise  is  heard,  varied  by  an  occasional  hiss  and 
rush,  as  if  the  contents  were  struggling  to  get  out.     It 
emits  hot  vapors,  and  has  a  slight  smell  of  sulphur  ;  other- 
wise, it  maintains  rather  a  peaceful  aspect,  considering  the 
infernal  temper  it  gets  into  when  disturbed. 


146  GEOGRAPHICAL   HEADER. 

7.  Zoega  and  I  worked  hard  cutting  and  carrying  sods 
for  nearly  half  an  hour,  by  which  time  we  had  a  large  pile 
on  the  edge  of  the  orifice.     Zoega  said  there  was  enough. 
I  insisted  on  getting  more.     "  Let  us  give  him  a  dose  that 
he  won't  forget."     "Oh,  sir,  nobody  ever  puts  more  than 
that  in  ;  it  is  quite  enough."     "No  ;  I  mean  to  make  him 
deadly  sick.     Come  on,  Zoega."     And  at  it  we  went  again, 
cutting  the  sod,  and  carrying  it  up  in  a  great  heap  by  the 
hole.     When  we  had  about  a  ton  all  ready,  I  said  to  Zoega, 
"  Now,  Zoega,  fire  away,  and  I'll  stand  here  and  see  how 
it  works." 

8.  Then  Zoega  pushed  it  all  over,  and  it  went  slapping 
and  dashing  down  into  the  steaming  shaft.     For  a  little 
while  it  whirled  about,  and  surged,  and  boiled,  and  tumbled 
over  and  over  in  the  depths  of  the  churn  with  a  hollow, 
swashing  noise,  terribly  ominous  of  what  was  to  come.     I 
peeped  over  the  edge  to  try  if  I  could  detect  the  first 
symptoms  of  the   approaching  eruption.      Zoega  walked 
quietly  away  about  twenty  steps,  saying  he  preferred  not 
to  be  too  close.     There  was  a  sudden  growl  and  a  rumble, 
a  terrible  plunging  about  and  swashing  of  the  sods  below, 
and  fierce,  whirling  clouds  of  steam  flew  up,  almost  blind- 
ing me  as  they  passed. 

9.  "Sir,"  said  Zoega,  gravely,  "you  had  better  stand 
away.     It  comes  up  very  suddenly  when  it  once  starts." 
"  Don't  be  afraid,  Zoega  ;  I'll  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  it. 
You  may  depend,  there's  not  a  geyser  in  Iceland  can  catch 
me  when  I  make  a  break."     "Very  well,  sir,  but  I'd  ad- 
vise you  to  be  careful.-"     Notwithstanding  this  good  coun- 
sel, I  could  not  resist  the  fascination  of  looking  in.     There 
was  another  tremendous  commotion  going  on — a  roar,  a 
whirling  over  of  the  sods,  and  clouds  of  steam  flying  up. 
This  time  I  ran  back  a  few  steps.     But  it  was  a  false 
alarm.     Nothing  came  of  it.     The  heaving  mass  seemed  to 
be  producing  the  desired  effect,   however.     The  Strokhr 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES.  147 

was  evidently  getting  very  sick.  I  looked  over  once  more. 
All  below  was  a  rumbling,  tumbling  black  mass,  dashing 
over  and  over  against  the  sides  of  the  churn. 

10.  Soon  a  threatening  roar,  not  to  be  mistaken,  star- 
tled me.     "  Look  out,  sir  ! "  shouted  Zoega — "  look  out  ! " 
Unlike  the  Frenchman  who  looked  out  when  he  should 
have  looked  in,  I  unconsciously  looked  in  when  I  should 
have  looked  out.     With  a  suddenness  that  astonished  me, 
up  shot  the  seething  mass  almost  in  my  face.      One  gal- 
vanic jump — an  involuntary  shout  of  triumph — and  I  was 
rolling  heels  over  head  on  the  crust  of  earth  about  ten 
feet  off,  the  hot  water  and  clumps  of  sod  tumbling  down 
about  me  in  every  direction.     Another  scramble"  brought 
me  to  my  feet,  of  which  I  made  such  good  use  that  I  was 
forty  yards  beyond  Zoega  before  I  knew  distinctly  what  had 
happened. 

11.  The  display  was  really  magnificent.     An  immense 
dark  column  shot  into  the  air  to  the  height  of  sixty  or 
seventy  feet,  composed  of  innumerable  jets  of  water  and 
whirling  masses  of  sod.    It  resembled  a  thousand  fountains 
joined  together,  each  with  a  separate  source  of  expulsion. 
The  hissing  hot  water,  blackened  by  the  boiled  clay  and 
turf,  spurted  up  in  countless  revolving  circlets,  spreading 
out  in  every   direction   and   falling  in  torrents  over  the 
earth,  which  was  deluged  for  fifty  feet  around  with  the 
dark,  steaming  flood.    This,  again  sweeping  into  the  mouth 
of  the  funnel,  fell  in  thick  streams  into  the  churn,  carry- 
ing with  it  the  sods  that  were  scattered  within  its  vortex, 
and  once  more  heaved  and  surged  about  in  the  huge  cal- 
dron below. 

12.  The   eruption  continued   for   about   five  minutes, 
without  any  apparent  diminution  of  force.     It  then  sub- 
sided into  fitful  and  convulsive  jets,  as  if  making  a  last 
effort,  and  finally  disappeared  with  a  deep  growl  of  disap- 
pointment.    All  was  now  quiet,  save  the  gurgling  of  the 

11 


148  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

murky  water  as  it  sought  its  way  back.  I  took  my  sketch, 
book  and  resolved  to  seize  the  next  opportunity  for  a  good 
view  of  the  eruption,  taking,  in  the  mean  time,  a  general 
outline  of  the  locality,  including  a  glimpse  of  the  Laugarf- 
jal.  Just  as  I  had  finished  up  to  the  orifice,  the  same  an- 
gry roar  which  had  first  startled  me  was  repeated,  and  up 
shot  the  dark,  boiling  flood  in  grander  style  than  ever. 
This  time  it  was  absolutely  fearful.  There  could  be  no 
doubt  the  dose  of  sods  we  had  tumbled  into  the  stomach  of 
the  old  gentleman  was  making  him  not  only  dreadfully 
sick,  but  furiously  angry. 

13.  At  this  moment,  as  if  the  elements  sympathized 
in  his  distress,  fierce  gusts  of  wind  began  to  blow  down 
from  the  Laugarfjal.     So  sudden  and  violent  were  they 
that  it  was  difficult  to  maintain  a  foothold  in  our  exposed 
position,  and  the  tall  column  of  fountains,  struck  with  the 
full  violence  of  the  wind,  presented  a  splendid  spectacle  of 
strength  and  rage — surging  and  swaying  and  battling  to 
maintain  its  erect  position,  and  showing  in  every  motion  the 
irresistible  power  with  which  it  was  ejected.     Steam  and 
water  and  sods  went  whirling  down  into  the  valley ;   the 
very  air  was  darkened  with  the  shriven  and  scattered  frag- 
ments ;  and  a  black  deluge  fell  to  the  leeward  hundreds  of 
yards  beyond  the  orifice.     The  weird  and  barren  aspect  of 
the  surrounding  scenery  was  never  more  impressive. 

14.  After  the  two  eruptions  the  waters  of  the  Strokhr 
again  subsided  into  sobs  and  convulsive  throes.     Some  half 
an  hour  now  elapsed  before  anything  more   took  place. 
Then  there  was  another  series  of  growls  and  a  terrible 
swashing  about  down  in  the  churn,  as  if  all  the  demons 
under  earth  were  trying  to  drown  one  another,  and  up  shot 
the  murky  flood  for  the  third  time.     Thus  it  continued  at 
intervals  more  and  more  remote,  till  a  late  hour  in  the 
night,  making  desperate  efforts  to  disgorge  the  sods  that 
were  swept  back  after  every  ejection,  and  to  rid  itself  of 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES.  149 

the  foul  water  that  remained.  These  attempts  gradually 
grew  fainter  and  fainter,  subsiding  at  last  into  mere  grum- 
blings. I  looked  into  the  orifice  the  next  morning,  and 
was  surprised  to  find  the  water  yet  discolored.  It  was  evi- 
dent, from  the  uneasy  manner  in  which  it  surged  about, 
that  the  dose  still  produced  unpleasant  effects. 

15.  The  Great  Geyser. gave  no  sign  of  an  eruption,  but 
in  the  night,  while  lying  in  my  tent,  in  the  midst  of  a  con- 
fused dream,  I  heard  the  booming  of  cannon,  at  first  far 
down  in  the  earth,  but  gradually  growing  nearer,  till  with 
a  start  I  awoke.     Still  the  guns  boomed  ;  surely  the  sounds 
were  real.     I  could  not  be  deceived.     Starting  to  my  feet, 
I  listened.     Splashing  and  surging  waters,  and  dull,  heavy 
reports  sounded  in  the  air.     I  dashed  aside  the  lining  of 
the  tent  and  looked  out.     Never  shall  I  forget  that  sight — 
the  Great  Geyser  in  full  eruption  :  a  tremendous  volume 
of  water  stood  in  bold  relief  against  the  sky,  like  a  tall  weep- 
ing-willow in  winter,  swaying  before  the  wind,  and  shaking 
the   white  frost  from  its  drooping  branches.      Whirling 
vapors  and  white  wreaths  floated  off  toward  the  valley. 
All  was  clear  overhead.      A   spectral   light,    which   was 
neither  of  day  nor  of  night,  shone  upon  the  dark,  lava- 
covered  earth.      The  rush  and  plashing  of  the   fountain 
and  the  booming  of  the  subterranean  guns  fell  with  a  start- 
ling distinctness  upon  the  solitude.     Streams  of  glittering 
white  water  swept  the  surface  of  the  great  basin  on  all 
sides,  and  dashed  hissing  and  steaming  into  the  encircling 
fissures.     A  feathery  spray  sparkled  through  the  air.     The 
earth  trembled,  and  sudden  gusts  of  wind  whirled  down 
with  a  moaning  sound  from  the  wild  gorges  of  the  Lau= 
garfjal. 

16.  It  did  not  appear  to  me  that  the  height  of  the  fount- 
ain was  so  great  as  it  is  generally  represented.     So  far  as  I 
could  judge,  the  greatest  altitude  at  any  time  from  the 
commencement  of  the  eruption  was  not  over  sixty  feet. 


L50  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

Its  volume,  however,  greatly  exceeded  my  expectations, 
and  the  beauty  of  its  form  surpassed  all  description.  I  had 
never  before  seen,  and  never  again  expect  to  see,  anything 
equal  to  it.  This  magnificent  display  lasted  altogether 
about  ten  minutes.  The  eruption  was  somewhat  spasmodic 
in  its  operation,  increasing  or  diminishing  in  force  at  each 
moment,  till,  with  a  sudden  dash,  all  the  water  that  re- 
mained was  ejected,  and  then  after  a  few  gurgling  throes 
all  was  silent. 

17.  There  are  various  theories  concerning  the  cause  of 
these  eruptions  of  water  in  Iceland.    That  of  Lyell,  the  ge- 
ologist, seems  the  most  reasonable.    The  earth,  as  it  is  well 
known,  increases  in  heat  at  a  certain  ratio  corresponding 
with  the  depths  from  the  surface.     There  are  cavities  in 
many  parts  of  it,  arising  from  subterranean  disturbances, 
into  which  the  water  percolates  from  the  upper  strata.     In 
Iceland  the  probability  is  that  these  cavities  are  both  nu- 
merous and  extensive,  owing  to  volcanic  causes,  and  form 
large  receivers  for  the  water  of  the  surrounding  neighbor- 
hood. 

18.  Wherever  there  is  a  natural  outlet,  as  at  the  Gey- 
sers, this  water,  which  is  boiling  by  the  heat  of  the  earth, 
is  forced   to   the   surface   by  compression   of   steam,   and 
remains  at  the  mouth  of  the  pipe,  or  shaft,  until  an  ac- 
cumulation of  compressed  steam  drives  it  up  in  the  form 
of  a  fountain.     The  periodical  occurrence  of  these  erup- 
tions in  some  of  the  hot  springs,  and  not  in  others,  may 
arise  from  a  difference  in  the  depth  of  the  receiver,  or 
more  probably  from  the  existence  of  several  outlets  for  the 
escape  of  steam  in  some,  and  only  one  in  others.     A  good 
illustration  of  this  theory  is  presented  in  the  boiling  of  an 
ordinary  tea-kettle.      When  the  compression  of  steam  is 
great,  the  cover  is  lifted  up,  by  which  means  the  pressure  is 
relieved  and  the  water  subsides.     The  same  thing  is  re- 
peated  until   the  space  within   the   kettle  becomes  suffi- 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES.  151 

ciently  large  to  admit  of  a  more  rapid  condensation  of  the 
steam. 

19.  The  action  of  the  Strokhr,  which,  as  I  have  shown, 
differs  from  that  of  the  Great  Geyser,  may  be  accounted 
for  011  the  same  general  principle.  The  foreign  substances 
thrown  in  on  the  top  of  the  boiling  water  stop  the  escape 
of  steam,  which,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  is  suffi- 
ciently great  not  to  require  the  periodical  relief  of  an  erup- 
tion. An  accumulation  of  compressed  steam  takes  place 
in  the  reservoir  below,  and  this  continues  until  the  obstruc- 
tion is  ejected. 

J.  Ross  Browne. 


VISIT   TO   THE    GEYSERS   OF    CALIFORNIA. 

1.  IN  the  morning  we  started  on  horseback  for  the  Gey- 
sers, twelve  miles  distant,  through  a  nipping  and  eager  air 
which  made  our  fingers  tingle.     We  passed  a  single  dwell- 
ing ;  hundreds  of  grazing  sheep,  and  one  immense  doe  with 
her  long-legged  fawn,  galloping  along  the  crests. 

2.  A  few  miles  to  our  left  were  the  snowy  peaks  of  the 
Coast  Kange  ;  and  nearer,  steep-down  under  our  feet,  the 
magnificent  valley  of  Eussian  Kiver,  dotted  with  live-oak 
and  redwood — a  valley  of  rolling  ridges,   pleasant  farm- 
houses with  great  barns,  and  broad,  green  meadows,  their 
brooks  and  lakelets  shining  like  mirrors. 

3.  After  climbing  for  several    miles,   our  path  winds 
along  a  unique  natural  embankment,  known  as  the  Hog- 
back,  a  mountain-summit,  like  a   ridge-pole   on   a   steep 
roof.     Now  the  rains  had  cut  and  gashed  it  until,  at  some 
points,  our  horses  could  barely  find  a  patli ;  but,  repaired 
in  summer,  it  is  just  wide  enough  for  carriage-wheels.     On 
each  side  one  looks  down  a  precipitous  bank  fifteen  hun- 
dred or  two  thousand  feet.     If  the  driver  happened  to  di- 
verge ten  inches  from  the  track,  the  load  would  reach  the 


152  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER, 

bottom  much  in  the  condition  of  a  bushel  of  apples  aftei 
passing  through  a  cider-mill. 

4.  Two  miles  from  the  Geysers  we  began  to  hear  them 
roar  like  ocean-steamers.     The  smoke  is  sometimes  seen 
here  ;  but  this  morning  the  atmosphere  was  not  favorable. 
AVe  were  now  fourteen   hundred  feet   higher  than   Foss 
Station,  and  five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.     From  this 
point  our  road  abruptly  pitches  down  into  the  sulphurous 
valley.     In  the  remaining  two  miles,  it  descends  sixteen 
hundred  feet,  with  thirty-five  sharp  turns,  often  on  the 
edge  of  precipitous  banks. 

5.  Turning  a  corner,  I  saw  the  column  of  smoke  from 
Steamboat  Spring,  rising  fully  three  hundred  feet  from  the 
ground.     At  this  distance  it  sounds  like  a  rail  way- train  in 
motion  ;  but  nearer  it  is  a  perfect  imitation  of  a  great  boat 
blowing  off  her  steam. 

6.  Pluton  River,  twenty  or  thirty  feet  wide,  and  run- 
ning westward,  tumbles  laughingly  down  the  rocks,  shaded 
by  overhanging  trees  and  vines.     On  its  south  bank  we 
first  visited  the  Iron  Spring,  a  little  basin  two  or  three  feet 
square.     The  water,  intensely  irony  to  the  taste,  is  covered 
with  a  yellowish-green  scum,  and  discolors  everything  in 
the  vicinity.     "With  the  late  fall  freshets  the  rustic  log 
bridge  spanning  the  river  had  gone  on  a  voyage  of  discov- 
ery ;  so  we  crossed  the  stream  as  best  we  might  by  jumping 
from  rock  to  rock. 

7.  There  we  were  at  the  mouth  of  the  Devil's  Canon, 
which  shuts  in  a  little  lateral  creek  running  south  and 
emptying  into  Pluton  Eiver.     On  this  branch  of  the  main 
stream  are  the  principal  Geysers.     Two  hundred  yards  up 
the  creek  we  reached  the  bath-houses.     The  water — pure 
and  cold  at  the  head  of  the  stream,  half  a  mile  above,  then 
heated  by  the  springs,  and  afterward  cooling  by  exposure  to 
the  air — is  here  just  warm  enough  for  pleasant  ablution. 

8.  The  steep  walls  of  the  narrow  ravine  rise  from  fifty 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES.  153 

to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet ;  bare,  spongy,  ashen,  clayey 
soil,  without  the  faintest  sign  of  grass  or  shrub.  Through 
this  chasm  rushes  the  curious  stream.  The  narrow  sum- 
mer path  beside  it  was  now  washed  away,  compelling  us  to 
climb  the  slippery  rocks,  and  sometimes  to  trust  the  seeth- 
ing, uncertain  earth. 

9.  Soon  we  were  among  clouds  of  steam  issuing  from 
the  soil  at  the  water's  edge,  and  thence  extending  far  up 
the  bank ;  the  mud  everywhere  too  hot  for  one  to  bear  his 
hand  in  it.     We  visited  the  Grotto,  where  tree-trunks  and 
branches  extend  across  the  creek,  over  wild,  jagged  rocks, 
and  then  a  delicious  little  cascade,  which  forms  a  natural 
cold  shower-bath.    Now  we  began  to  encounter  hot  streams 
bubbling  up  beside  the  creek,  some  clear  and  blue,  others, 
within  two  feet  of  them,  black ;  some  very  bitter,  forming 
white  incrustations    of   salt ;  and  others    depositing  fine- 
fibered,  exquisite  flowers  of  sulphur,  like  delicate  yellow  or 
black  moss.    Hot,  cold,  and  boiling  springs  are  side  by  side, 
each  with  its  own  individual  hue — blue,  black,  brown,  red, 
green,  yellow,  pink,  or  gray. 

10.  We  passed  the  Devil's  Wash-bowl,  the  Devil's  Kitch- 
en, and   other  localities  quite  as  infernal  in  sound,   heat, 
and  smell  as  in  name.     The  jets  of  steam  and  the  bubbling 
up  of  hot  water  are  curious  enough  ;  but  the  boiling  within 
hundreds  of  cavities  undei-ground,  dimly  seen,  but  clearly 
heard  through  their  narrow  mouths,  is  far  more  startling 
and  impressive.     The  different  springs  emit  many  varieties 
of  sound  :  the  singing  of  a  tea-kettle,  the  pulpy  boiling  of 
a  huge  tank  of  potatoes,  the  distant  roar  of  a  great  quartz- 
crusher,  the  cob-cracking  of  a  grist-mill,  the  sough  of  the 
wind,  the  murmur  of  the  pine,  the  dash  of  the  waves — all 
liquid,  vibrating,  tremulous  notes. 

11.  The  principal  group  is  beside  the  creek,  for  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  ;  but  there  are  fully  one  thousand  places  where 
steam  issues  from  the  banks.     At  times  the  ground  shakes 


154  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

so  as  to  rattle  crockery  in  the  hotel,  one  third  of  a  mile 
away.  The  earth  trembles  and  shudders  as  if  in  terror  of 
going  back  to  the  first  throbs  of  chaos,  of  being  again  with- 
out form  and  void,  and  darkness  upon  the  face  of  the  deep. 

12.  The  Witches'  Caldron  was  seven  feet  deep,  with  cir- 
cular walls  two  or  three  yards  across,  but  the  lower  part  of 
the  rocky  rim  has  broken  away,  leaving  only  a  little  seeth- 
ing pool  of  inky  blackness,  so  hot  that  it  will  boil  an  egg. 
Several  times  we  burned  our  fingers  and  caught  stifling 
blasts  from  the  hot,  natural  furnace. 

13.  At  the  head  of  the  cafion,  fifty  feet  up  a  sharp  hill, 
is  Steamboat  Spring,  greatest  of  all.     It  has  no  water,  but 
consists  entirely  of  steam.    We  climbed  the  bank,  and  crept 
over  brittle,  yielding  earth,  as  near  the  mouth  as  we  dared. 
Its  aperture  is  as  large  as  the  body  of  a  man.     In  the  shift- 
ing wind  the  enveloping,  scorching,  sulphurous  steam  is  nei- 
ther pleasant  nor  safe  ;  but  its  constant  roar  and  its  great 
column  rising  upright  for  hundreds  of  feet  are  peculiarly 
impressive. 

14.  Recrossing  the  gorge,  we  ascended  a  high  plateau, 
with  a  broken  rim  called  the  Crater,  and  really  suggesting 
the  mouth  of  an  extinct  volcano.    Here  are  the  Vent-Holes, 
two  springs  a  few  feet  apart,  which  will  boil  an  egg  in  a 
minute  and  a  half,  and  from  which  steam  escapes  with  great 
force.     A  stone,  as  large  as  one's  fist,  dropped  into  either 
of  them,  bounds  up  three  or  four  feet,  like  an  India-rubber 
ball.     I  confess  a  boyish  desire  to  see  two  stearn-whistles 
inserted  here,  and  listen  to  their  shrill,  unceasing,  madden- 
ing screech.    I  know  of  no  place  where  so  much  noise  could 
be  had  for  so  little  money  ! 

15.  Other  geysers  abound  for  six  miles  along  Pluton 
River,  but  I  have  named  the  largest  and  most  interesting. 
In  character  their  variety  is  very  great,  though  soda,  mag- 
nesia, alum,  Epsom-salts,  and  various  salts  of  iron  predomi- 
nate. 


NATURAL    CURIOSITIES.  155 

16.  When  their  discoverer  first  stumbled  upon  them,  his 
sensations  must  have  been  worth  experiencing.  Indians, 
who  regard  them  with  wildest  terror,  can  not  be  induced  to 
approach  ;  and  some  white  visitors  never  dare  to  enter  the 
canon.  The  smell  of  brimstone,  hissing  of  steam,  seeth- 
ing and  throbbing  of  struggling  waters,  and  the  under- 
ground roaring  and  trembling,  do  seem  peculiarly  diabolical, 
and  suggest  Inferno  very  thinly  crusted  over. 

A.  D.  Richardson. 


THE   GEYSERS   OF  THE    NATIONAL   PARK. 

1.  "  ENTERING  the  basin  from  the  north,  and  follow- 
ing the  banks  of  the  Fire-Hole  River,  whose  direction  there 
is  about  northeast,  a  series  of  rapids,  quite  near  together, 
is  encountered,  when  the  river  makes  a  sharp  bend  to  the 
southwest,  at  which  point  is  found  a  small  steam-jet  upon 
the  right.     A  warm  stream  comes  in  from  the  left,  falling 
over  a  bank  ten  feet  in  height.     A  short  distance  beyond,  a 
second  rapid  is  found,  and  then  another,  about  one  hundred 
yards  farther  on,  where  the  gate  of  the  Geyser  Basin  is 
entered.     Here,  on  either  side  of  the  river,  are  two  lively 
geysers  called  the  Sentinels.     The  one  on  the  left  is  in  con- 
stant agitation,  its  waters  revolving  horizontally  with  great 
violence,  and  occasionally  spouting  upward  to  the  height 
of  twenty  feet,  the  lateral  direction  being  fifty  feet.    Enor- 
mous masses  of  steam  are  ejected.     The  crater  of  this  gey- 
ser is  three  feet  by  ten. 

2.  ff  The  opposite  Sentinel  is  not  so  constantly  active, 
and  is  smaller.     The  rapids  here  are  two  hundred  yards  in 
length,  with  a  fall  of  thirty  feet.     Following  the  bank  of 
the  river,  whose  general  course  is  from  the  southeast,  though 
with  many  windings,  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the 


156  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

gate  we  reach  three  geysers  acting  in  concert.  When  in 
full  action,  the  display  from  these  is  very  fine.  The  waters 
spread  out  in  the  shape  of  a  fan,  in  consequence  of  which 
they  have  been  named  the  Fan  Geysers.  A  plateau,  oppo- 
site the  latter,  contains  fifteen  hot  springs,  of  various  char- 
acteristics ;  some  are  of  a  deep-blue  color,  from  sulphate  of 
copper  held  in  solution,  and  having  fanciful  caverns  dis- 
tinctly visible  below  the  surface  of  the  water. 

3.  "  The  openings  at  the  surface  are  often  beautifully 
edged  with  delicately  wrought  fringes  of  scalloped  rock. 
One  variety  deposits  a  red  or  brown  leathery  substance,  par- 
tially adhering  to  the  sides  and  bottom  of  the  cavern,  and 
waving  to  and  fro  in  the  water  like  plants.     The  size  of 
these  springs  varies  from  five  to  forty  feet  in  diameter. 
One  hundred  yards  farther  up  the  east  side  of  the  stream 
is  found  a  double  geyser,  a  stream  from  one  of  its  orifices 
playing  to  the  height  of  eighty  or  ninety  feet,   emitting 
large  volumes  of  steam.     From  the  formation  of  its  crater 
it  was  named  the  Well  Geyser.     Above  is  a  pine-swamp  of 
cold  water,  opposite  which,  and  just  above  the  plateau  pre- 
viously mentioned,  are  found  some  of  the  most  interesting 
and  beautiful  geysers  of  the  whole  basin. 

4.  "  First  we  come  upon  two  smaller  geysers  near  a  large 
spring  of  blue  water,  while  a  few  yards  beyond  are  seen  the 
walls  and  arches  of  the  Grotto.     This  is  an  exceedingly  in- 
tricate formation,  eight  feet  in  height,  and  ninety  in  cir- 
cumference.     It  is  hollowed  into  fantastic   arches,   with 
pillars  and  walls  of   almost  indescribable  variety.      This 
geyser  plays  to  the  height  of  sixty  feet  several  times  during 
twenty-four  hours.     The  water,  as  it  issues  from  its  numer- 
ous apertures,  has  a  very  striking  and  picturesque  effect. 

5.  "  Near  the  Grotto  is  a  large  crater,  elevated  four  feet 
above  the  surface  of  the  hill,  having  a  rough-shaped  open- 
ing, measuring  two  by  two  and  a  half  feet.     Two  hundred 
yards  farther  up  are  two  very  fine  large  geysers,  between 


UNIVERSITY 
NATURAL    CURIOSITIES.  157 


^    v1  " 

f  OJf   TKK 

f  UNIVERSI 
N£^r 

tKrr 


which  and  the 
Grotto  are  two 
boiling  springs. 
Proceeding  one 
hundred  and  fifty 
yards  farther,  and 
passing  two  hot 
springs,  a  remark- 
able group  of  gey- 
sers is  discovered. 
One  of  these  has  a 
huge  crater  five 
feet  in  diameter, 
shaped  something 
like  the  base  of  a 
horn — one  side 
broken  down — the 
highest  point  be- 
ing fifteen  feet 
above  the  mound 
on  which  it  stands. 
This  proved  to  be 
a  tremendous  gey- 
ser, which  has  been 
called  the  Giant. 

6.  "It  throws 
a  column  of  wa- 
ter the  size  of  the 
opening  to  the 
measured  altitude 
of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  feet, 
and  continues  the 

display  for  an  hour  and  a  half.     The  amount  of  water  dis- 
charged was  immense,  about  equal  in  quantity  to  that  in 


158  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

the  river,  the  volume  of  which,  during  the  eruption,  was 
doubled.  But  one  eruption  of  this  geyser  was  observed. 
Its  periodic  turns  were  not,  therefore,  determined.  An- 
other large  crater  close  by  has  several  orifices,  and,  with 
ten  small  jets  surrounding  it,  formed,  probably,  one  con- 
nected system.  The  hill  built  up  by  this  group  covers  an 
acre  of  ground,  and  is  thirty  feet  in  height." 

Lieutenant  Barlow. 


THE   YOSEMITE    VALLEY. 

1.  ON  the  7th  of  August,  after  four  days'  hard  travel 
from  San  Francisco,  we  galloped  out  of   the  pine-woods, 
dismounted,  stood  upon  the  rocky  precipice  of  Inspiration 
Point,  and  looked  down  into  Yosemite  as  one  from  a  house- 
top looks  down  into  his  garden,  or  as  he  would  view  the 
interior  of  some   stupendous,  roofless   cathedral  from  the 
top  of  one  of  its  towering  walls.     In  the  distance,  across 
the  gorge,  were  snow-streaked  mountains.     Right  under  us 
was  the  narrow,  winding  basin  of  meadow,  grove,  and  shin- 
ing river,  shut  in  by  granite  walls  from  two  thousand  to 
five  thousand   feet  high — walls  with  immense  turrets  of 
bare  rock,  walls  so  upright  and  perfect  that  an  expert  crag- 
man  can  climb  out  of  the  valley  at  only  three  or  four 
points. 

2.  Flinging  a  pebble   from  the  rock  upon   which   we 
stood,  and  looking  over  the  brink,  I  saw  it  fall  more  than 
half  a  mile  before  striking.     Glancing  across  the  narrow, 
profound  chasm,  I  surveyed  an  unbroken,  seamless  wall  of 
granite,  two  thirds  of  a  mile  high,  and  more  than  perpen- 
dicular,  the  top  projecting  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  over 
the  base.     Turning  toward  the  upper  end  of  the  valley,  I 


NATURAL    CURIOSITIES.  159 

• 

beheld  a  half-dome  of  rock,  one  mile  high,  and  on  its  sum- 
mit a  solitary  gigantic  cedar,  appearing  like  the  merest 
twig.  Originally  a  vast  granite  mountain,  it  was  riven 
from  top  to  bottom  by  some  ancient  convulsion,  which 
cleft  asunder  the  everlasting  hills  and  rent  the  great  globe 
itself. 

3.  The  measureless  inclosing  walls,  with  these  leading- 
towers  and  turrets,  gray,  brown,  and  white  rock,  darkly 
veined  from  summit  to  base  with  streaks  and  ribbons  of 
falling  water  ;  hills,  almost  upright,  yet  studded  with  tena- 
cious firs  and   cedars  ;  and  the   deep-down  level   floor   of 
grass,  with  its  thread  of  river  and  pygmy  trees — all  burst 
upon  me  at  once.     Nature  had  lifted  her  curtain  to  reveal 
the  vast  and  the  infinite.     It  elicited  no  adjectives,  no  ex- 
clamations.    With  bewildering  sense  of  divine  power  and 
human  littleness,  I  could  only  gaze  in  silence,  till  the  view 
strained  my  brain  and  pained  my  eyes,  compelling  me  to 
turn  away  and  rest  from  its  oppressive  magnitude. 

4.  Riding  for  two  hours,   down,  down,   among  sharp 
rocks  and  dizzy  zigzags,  where  the  five  ladies  of  our  party 
found  it  difficult  to  keep  in  their  saddles,  and  narrowly 
escaped  pitching  over  their  horses'  heads,  we  were  in  the 
valley,   entering   by  the   Mariposa   trail.      The   length   of 
the  valley  or  cleft  is  nine  miles  ;  its  average  width  three 
fourths  of  a  mile.     The  following  dimensions  are  in  feet : 

Average  width  of  Merced  River 69 

Height  of  Yosemite  Falls    (Upper,   1,600;    Rapids,  434; 

Lower,  600) 2,634 

Width  of  these  falls  at  upper  summit  in  August 15 

Height  of  Bridal- Veil  Fall 940 

Heightof  South  Fork  Fall 740 

Height  of  Vernal  Fall 330 

Height  of  Nevada  Fall 700 

Width  of  Vernal  and  Nevada,  at  summits 40 

Height  of  El  Capitan  Rock. 3,900 

Height  of  Three  Brothers  Rock  (three  turrets) 3,437 


160  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

* 

Height  of  North  Dome  Rock „ 3,720 

Height  of  Inspiration  Point  Rock 3,000 

Height  of  Cathedral  Rocks  (two  turrets) 3,000 

Height  of  Sentinel  Rock 3,270 

Height  of  Mount  Colfax 3,400 

Height  of  Mount  Star  King 4,500 

Height  of  South  Dome  Rock 6,000 

5.  The  rock  mountains  are  the  great  feature  ;  indeed, 
they  are  Yosemite.     The  nine  granite  walls,  which  range 
in  altitude  from  three  to  six  thousand  feet,  are  the  most 
striking  examples  on  the  globe  of  the  masonry  of  nature. 
Their  dimensions  are  so  vast  that  they  utterly  outrun  our 
ordinary  standards  of  comparison.     One  might  as  well  be 
told  of  a  wall,  upright  like  the  side  of  a  house  for  ten  thou- 
sand miles,  as  for  two  thirds  of  one  mile.     When  we  speak 
of  a  giant  twenty-five  feet  high,  it  conveys  some  definite 
impression  ;  but  to  tell  of  one  three  thousand  feet  high, 
would  only  bewilder,   and  convey  no  meaning  whatever. 
So,  at  first,  these  stupendous  walls  painfully  confuse  the 
mind.     By  degrees,  day  after  day,  the  sight  of  them  clears 
it,  until,  at  last,  one  receives  a  just  impression  of  their 
solemn  immensity. 

6.  Cathedral  Rocks  have  two  turrets,  and  look  like  some 
Titanic  religious  pile.      Sentinel  towers  alone,  grand  and 
hoary.    The  South  Dome,  a  mile  high,  is  really  a  semi-dome. 
Cleft  from  top  to  bottom,  one  half  of  it  went  on  the  other 
side  of  the  chasm  and  disappeared,  when  the  great  mountains 
were  rent  in  twain.     The  gigantic  North  Dome  is  as  round 
and  perfect  as  the  cupola  of  the  national  Capitol.     Three 
Brothers  is  a  triple-pointed  mass  of  solid  granite.    All  these 
rocks,  and  scores  of  lesser  ones,  which  would  be  noticeable 
anywhere  else  in  the  world,  exhibit  vegetation.      Hardy 
cedars,  thrusting  roots  into  imperceptible  crevices  of  their 
upright  sides,  apparently  growing  out  of  unbroken  stone, 
have  braved  a  thousand  years  the  battle  and  the  breeze. 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES. 


161 


7.  El  Capi- 
tan  is  grand- 
est of  all.    No 
tuft  of  beard 
shades  or  fringes  its  close- 
ly shaven  face.     No  tena- 
cious vine  even  can  fasten 
its  tendrils  to  climb  that- 
smooth,  seamless,  stupen- 
dous   Wall.      There   it   will  Tosemite  Valley. 

stand — grandeur,  massive- 
ness,  indestructibility— till  the  heavens  shall  pass  away 
with  a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  melt  with  fervent 


162  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

heat.  Its  Indian  name  is  Tu-toch-ah-nu-lah.  Both  this 
and  the  Spanish  word  signify  "the  Leader/'  but  were  ap- 
plied in  the  sense  of  the  Supreme  Being.  One  noble  mount- 
ain most  appropriately  commemorates  Thomas  Star  King. 
Another,  immediately  in  the  rear  of  Hutchings's,  our  party 
found  nameless,  and,  except  the  Speaker  himself,  unani- 
mously voted  to  christen  it  Mount  Colfax. 

8.  Yet  Yosemite  is  the  loftiest  water-fall  in  the  world. 
Think  of  a  cataract,  or  cascade,  of  half  a  mile  with  only  a 
single  break  !   It  is  sixteen  times  higher  than  Niagara.    We 
did  not  climb  to  the  rapids  and  foot  of  the  Upper  Fall ; 
that  is  difficult,  hazardous,  and  exhausting.     Nor  did  we 
go  to  the  extreme  summit ;  that  requires  a  circuitous  ride 
of  twenty-five  miles  out  of  the  valley.     But  we  spent  much 
time  at  the  base  of  the  Lower  Fall,  shut  in  by  towering 
walls  of  dark  granite. 

9.  Much  of  the  water  turns  to  mist  before  reaching  the 
bottom  ;  yet  looking  up  from  under  it  the  volume  seems 
great.     Six  hundred  feet  above,  a  body  of  ragged,  snowy 
foam,  with  disheveled  tresses,  rushes  over  the  brink,  and 
comes  singing  down  in  slender  column,  swayed  to  and  fro 
by  the  wind  like  a  long  strand  of  lace.     For  four  hundred 
feet  the  descent  is  unruffled  ;  then  striking  a  broad,  inclin- 
ing rock,  like  the  roof  of  a  house,  the  water  spreads  over 
it,  a  thin,  shining,  transparent  apron,  fringed  with  deli- 
cate gauze,  and  glides  swiftly  to  the  bottom.     By  moon- 
light the  whole  looks  like  a  long,  white  ribbon,  hanging 
against  the  brown  wall,  with  its  lower  end  widening  and 
unraveled. 

10.  Bridal- Veil   Fall,   unbroken,  much   narrower,  and 
softened  by  a  delicate  mist  which  half  hides  it,  is  a  strip  of 
white,  fluttering  foam,  which  the  wind  swings  like  a  silken- 
pendulum.     It  is   spanned   by  a  rainbow ;    and  at  some 
points  the  thin,  glass-like  sheet  reveals  every  hue  of  the 
wall  behind  it.     Before  reaching  the  end  of  its  long  de- 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES.  163 

scent,   a  rill  no   longer,   it  is   completely  transformed  to 
spray,  the  Niobe  of  cascades  dissolved  in  tears. 

11.  Above  Hutchings's  the  valley  breaks  into  three  ca- 
iions,  and  the  Merced  into  three  forks.     North  Fork  passes 
through  Mirror  Lake,  the  very  soul  of  transparency.     It 
reflects  grass,  trees,  rocks,  mountains,  and  sky  with  such 
perfect  and  startling  vividness  that  one  can  not   believe 
them  images  and  shadows.     He  fancies  the  world  turned 
upside   down,    and   shrinks   back   from   the   lake   lest  he 
should  tumble  over  the  edge  into  the  inverted  dome  of 
blue  sky. 

12.  On  the  Middle  or  main  Fork  is  Vernal  Fall,  difficult 
of  access.     Leaving  our  horses  three  miles  from  the  hotel, 
we  climbed  for  two  weary  hours  along  dizzy  shelves  and  up 
sharp  rocks  where  the  trail  rises  one  thousand  feet  to  the 
mile  ;  pine-woods  all  around  us  ;  at  our  left  and  far  below, 
the  river  chafing  and  roaring  in  its  stony  bed.     Then  we 
stood  at  the  foot  of  Vernal  Fall.     Bridal  Veil  and  Yosem- 
ite  are  on  little  lateral  creeks.     Vernal  is  the  full  swelling 
torrent  of  the   Merced.      Those   creep  softly  and  slowly 
down,   as  if  in  pain  and  hesitation  ;    this  rushes  eagerly 
over  gloomy  brown  rocks,  then  leaps  headlong  for  more 
than  three  hundred  feet,  roaring  like  a  miniature  Niagara. 

13.  Eainbows  of  dazzling  brightness  shine  at  its  base. 
When   standing  alone,   viewing  this  fall,   I  saw  what  to 
Hebrew  prophet  had  been  a  vision  of  heaven,  or  the  visible 
pressure  of  the  Almighty.     It  was  the  round  rainbow,  the 
complete  circle.     In  the  afternoon  sun  I  stood  upon  a  rock 
a  hundred  feet  from  the  base  of  the  fall,  and  nearly  on  a 
level  with  it.     There  were,  two  brilliant  rainbows  of  usual 
form?  the  crescent,  the  bow  proper.     But  while  I  looked, 
the  two  horns  of  the  inner  or   lower   crescent   suddenly 
lengthened,  extending  on  each  side  to  my  feet,  an  entire 
circle,  perfect  as  a  finger-ring.     In  two  or  three  seconds  it 

passed  away,  shrinking  to  the  first  dimensions.     Ten  min- 
12 


164  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

utes  later  it  formed  again,  and  again  as  suddenly  disap< 
peared.  Every  sharp  gust  of  wind  showering  the  spray 
over  me  revealed  for  a  moment  the  round  rainbow.  Com- 
pletely drenched,  I  stood  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  saw 
full  twenty  times  that  dazzling  circle  of  violet  and  gold, 
on  a  groundwork  of  wet  dark  rock,  gay  dripping  flowers, 
and  vivid  grass.  I  never  looked  upon  any  other  scene  in 
nature  so  beautiful  and  impressive. 

14.  Climbing  a  high  rock-wall  by  crazy  wooden  ladders, 
we  continued  up  the  canon  for  three  quarters  of  a  mile  to 
Nevada  Fall,   where   the  Merced  tumbles  seven  hundred 
feet,  in  "  white  and  swaying  mistiness."     Near  the  bottom 
it  strikes  an  inclined  rock,  and  spreads  upon  it  a  sheet  of 
floating  silver  tissue  a  hundred  and  thirty  feet  wide. 

15.  Passing  over  a  wide,  gaping  crack  or  chasm  in  this 
rocky  grade,  the  thin  sheet  of  water  breaks  into  delicate, 
shining  net-work,  then  into  myriads  of  shining  beads,  and 
finally  into  long  sparkling  threads,  an  exquisite  silken  fringe 
to  the  great  white  curtain. 

16.  These  names   are  peculiarly    fitting.     Bridal   Veil 
indeed  looks  like  a  veil  of  lace.     In  summer,  when  Bridal 
Veil  and  Yosemite  dwarf,  Vernal  still  pours  its  ample  tor- 
rent, and  Nevada  is  always  white  as  a  snow-drift. 

17.  The   Yosemite  is  height ;   the  Vernal  is   volume  ; 
the  Bridal  Veil  is  softness  ;  but  the  Nevada  is  height,  vol- 
ume, and  softness  combined.     South  Fork  cataract,  most 
inaccessible  of  all,  we  did  not  visit.    In  spring  each  fall  has 
twenty  times  as  much  water  as  in  summer. 

18.  On  the  whole,  Yosemite  is  incomparably  the  most 
wonderful  feature  of  our  continent.     European  travelers 
agree  that  transatlantic  scenery  has  nothing  at  all  approach- 
ing it.     Unless  the  unexplored  Himalayas  hide  some  rival, 
there  is  no  spot,  the  wide  world  over,  of  such  varied  beauty 
and  measureless  grandeur. 

A.  1).  Richardson. 


NATURAL    CURIOSITIES.  165 


THE    BIG    TREES   OF   CALIFORNIA. 

1.  THE  Mariposa  Big  Trees  are  thirty  miles  from  Yo- 
semite  Valley.      We  visited  them  by  diverging  five  miles 
from  our  homeward  route  to  San  Francisco.     Six  hundred 
of  these  mammoths  are  scattered  among  the  noble  pines 
of  twelve  hundred  and  eighty  acres.     Many  of  the  pines 
are  two  hundred  feet  high.    Elsewhere  they  would  be  kings 
of  the  forest ;  but  among  these  hoary  giants  they  become 
puny,   insignificant  children.     Pygmies   or  Alps  may   be 
pygmies  still,   but  pyramids  are  not  always  pyramids  in 
vales. 

2.  The  Big  Trees  had  been  considered  redwoods,  a  spe- 
cies of  cedar  abounding  upon  this  coast,  but  the  botanists 
decide  otherwise,  and  name  them  Sequoias.     They  are  the 
oldest  and  most  stupendous  vegetable   products   existing 
upon  the  globe.     Already  twenty  groves  have  been  discov- 
ered in   California.      The  Mariposa  is  largest  and  finest, 
though  the  Calaveras,  fifty  miles  to  the  northward,  is  bet- 
ter known. 

3.  Of  the  Mariposa  sequoias,  two  hundred  are  more  than 
twelve  feet  in  diameter,  fifty  more  than  sixteen  feet,  and 
six  more  than  thirty  feet.     The  largest,  called  the  Pros- 
trate Monarch,  now  lying  upon  the  ground  leafless   and 
branchless,  is  believed  to  have  fallen  fully  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago.     Fire  has  consumed  much  of  the  trunk, 
but  enough  remains  to  show  that,  with  the  bark  on,  it  must 
have  been  forty  feet  in  thickness.     Figures  give  little  idea 
of  such  dimensions.      Measure  up  forty  feet  on  a  house- 
wall,  then  four  hundred  feet  along   the  ground,  and  try 
to  picture  the  diameter  and  height  of  the  Prostrate  Mon- 
arch as  it  stood  a  thousand  years  ago. 

4.  The  tops  of  the  largest  trees  are  broken  off,  leaving 
their  average  height  about  two  hundred  and   fifty  feet, 


166 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


though  some  range  between  three 
and  four  hundred  feet.  We  saw 
one  branch — not  a  fork,  but  an 
honest,  lateral  branch — six  feet  in 
diameter,  growing  from  the  stem 
eighty  feet  above  the  ground.  Into 
a  cavity  burned  in  the  side  of  an- 
other standing  tree,  fifteen  of  us 
rode  together.  Without  crouching, 
we  all  sat  upon  our  horses  in  that 
black,  novel  chamber,  though  it 
occupies  less  than  half  the  thick- 
ness of  the  immense  trunk. 

5.  Through  a  stem  lying  upon 
the  ground  fire  has  bored  like  an 
auger.  Our-  entire  cavalcade,  in- 
cluding all  the  tall  men,  all  the 
fat  men,  and  all  the  ample  skirts, 
rode  through  it  from  end  to  end, 
like  a  rail  way- train  through  a  tun- 
nel. 

0.  The  largest  standing  tree  is 
the  Grizzly  Giant.  Its  bark  is  near- 
ly two  feet  thick.  If  it  were  cut 
off  smoothly,  fifty  horses  could  easi- 
ly stand,  or  sixteen  couples  dance, 
upon  the  stump.  If  the  trunk  were 
hollowed  to  a  shell,  it  would  hold 
more  freight  than  a  man-of-war  or 
a  first-class  ocean-steamer  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  long. 

7.  One  of  the  Calaveras  sequoias 
was  cut  down  by  boring  with  augers  and  sawing  the  spaces 
between.  The  work  employed  five  men  for  twenty-five 
days.  When  fully  cut  off,  the  tree  stubbornly  continued 


Giant  Trees. 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES.  167 

to  stand,  only  yielding  at  last  to  a  mammoth  wedge  and 
a  powerful  battering-ram. 

8.  The  pine-cones  are  cylindrical,  and  sometimes  nearly 
two  feet  long.     Those  of  the  Big  Trees  are  round,  and  not 
larger  than  apples.     Seedlings  from  them  are  growing  in 
English  parks,  where  a  mania  prevails  for  coniferous  trees. 
Two  hundred  are  planted  in  our  great  Central  Park,  and 
many  more  in  the  nurseries  of  Western  New  York.     They 
are  thrifty  and  vigorous  ;  how  large  they  will  become  is  an 
interesting  problem. 

9.  There  seems  to  be  no  convincing  or  even  plausible 
theory  of  their  origin — I  should  rather  say  of  their  preser- 
vation ;  for  they  are  children  of  a  long-ago  climatic  era. 
The  age  of  giants  lingers  on  the  entire  Pacific  coast. 

10.  Through   California   and   Oregon  stupendous  fed- 
woods  are  everywhere  numerous  ;  and  on  the  summit  of 
the  Sierras,  almost  a  mile  above  sea-level;  grow  sugar-pines 
ten  and  twelve  feet  in  diameter.     Well  says  Holmes  : 

"In  fact,  there's  nothing  that  keeps  its  youth — 
So  far  as  I  know— but  a  tree  and  truth." 

11.  It  was  once  thought  incredible  that  the  yew  should 
live  a  thousand  years.     But  these  monster  sequoias  are  the 
world's  patriarchs.      Some  botanists  date  their  birth  far 
back  of  earliest  human  history  ;  none  estimate  their  age 
at  less  than  eighteen  hundred  years.    Perchance  their  youth 
saw  the  awkward,   thundering  mastodon  canter  over  the 
hills  ;  and  the  hundred-feet-long  reptile,  of  many  legs  and 
mouth   like   a   volcano,    crawl   sluggishly  through   torrid 
swamps. 

12.  They  were  living  when  the  father  of  poets,  old, 
blind,  and  vagabond,  sang  his  immortal  song ;  when  the 
sage  of  Athens,   "that  most  Christian  heathen,"  calmly 
drank  the  hemlock  ;  when  the  carpenter  of  Judea,  from 
whom  the  whole  world  now  computes  its  time,  was  a  man 


168  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief,  despised  and  rejected 
of  men. 

13.  An  act  of  Congress  has  segregated  Yosemite  Val- 
ley and  the  Mariposa  groves  of  Big  Trees  from  the  general 
public  domain,  setting  them  apart  as  pleasure-grounds  for 
the  people  of  the  United  States  and  their  heirs  and  assigns 
for  ever.  This  wise  legislation  secures  to  the  proper  na- 
tional uses  incomparably  the  largest  and  grandest  park  and 
the  sublimest  natural  scenery  in  the  whole  world.  They 
are  under  the  care  of  a  commissioner  appointed  by  the 
Governor  of  California,  for  their  preservation  and  protec- 
tion, to  render  them  accessible,  keep  them  free  from  muti- 
lation, and  see  that  no  vandal  hand  of  art  attempts  to 
improve  upon  the  simplicity  and  grandeur  of  Nature. 

A.  D.  Richardson. 


THE    CEDARS    OF    LEBANON. 

1.  TRAVELERS  often  ascend  into  the  neighborhood  of 
Mount  Sunnin,  to  visit  certain  groves  of  cedars  which  still 
stand  there,  the  venerable  remains  and  memorials  of  the 
vast  forest  which  in  former  times  waved  upon  the  mount- 
ains, and  gave  them  so  great  an  historical  celebrity.  They 
make  this  journey  usually  from  Beyrout,  one  of  the  chief 
sea-ports  of  Syria,  which  stands  on  the  shore  a  little  to  the 
southward  of  the  peak  of  Sunnin.  From  Beyrout  to  the 
cedar-groves  it  is  three  days'  journey,  and  there  are  two 
principal  routes  between  which  the  traveler  has  to  choose. 
One  strikes  directly  into  the  interior,  and  loses  itself  soon 
among  the  mountains.  The  other  follows  the  sea-shore  to 
the  northward  for  a  day,  affording  the  traveler  many  a  fine 
prospect  of  the  sea,  as  the  mule-track  which  he  follows 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES.  169 

winds  along  the  margin  of  the  beach,  or  passes  over  some 
lofty  promontory. 

2.  Whichever  route   he  takes,   the   preparations  for  a 
journey  of  several  days,  among  mountain-passes  so  rugged 
and  wild,  form   usually  a   very  exciting   scene.      For  as 
there  are  no  inns  in  these  regions,  and  no  accommoda- 
tions of  any  kind  for  the  use  of  travelers,  those  who  jour- 
ney must  take  with  them  almost  everything  that  they  ex- 
pect to  require — their  dwellings  even,  as  well  as  their  food 
and  clothing — so  as  to  be  entirely  independent  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  country,  in  every  emergency  which  may  occur 
during  the  tour.     Tents,  carpets,  arms,  stores  of  food,  and 
utensils  for  cooking,  must  all  be  carried,  and  while  the 
caravan  is  making  ready  for  the  march,  these  things  are 
assembled  confusedly  on  the  ground,  waiting  for  the  strange 
and  foreign-looking  servants,  with  turbans  on  their  heads, 
and  cimeters  by  their  sides,  to  pack  them  on  the  backs  of 
the  beasts  that  are  to  bear  them.     The  work  of  preparation 
goes  on  in  the  midst  of  a  scene  of  noise  and  confusion  in- 
describable.    The  neighing  of  horses,  the  vociferations  of 
men,  the  galloping  of  messengers  to  and  fro,  the  calls,  the 
commands,  and  the  uproar,  often  greatly  astonish  as  well  as 
amuse  the  traveler  who  is  accustomed  to  the  order  and  de- 
corum which  generally  prevail  in  the  traveling  arrange- 
ments of  the  Western  world. 

3.  At  length  the  long  cavalcade  is  in  motion,  and  it 
proceeds  slowly,  winding  its  way  along  the  coast  to  the 
northward,  the  tourist  having  chosen,  we  will  suppose,  the 
route  that  leads  him  along  the  sea.     As  he  advances,  the 
scenes  and  the  objects  which  attract  his  attention  are  char- 
acteristic and  peculiar.     Here  is  a  small  but  pretty  valley 
opening  to  the  sea,  with  boats  upon  the  beach  before  it, 
laden  with  wheat  and  barley,  while  groves  of  mulberry-trees, 
for  the  production  of  silk,  adorn  the  terraces  and  hill-sides 
around.     A  little  beyond  is  a  "sponge-fishery,"  where  fine 


170  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

sponges  are  collected  annually  from  the  rocks,  destined, 
perhaps,  some  of  them,  for  the  toilets  of  ladies  in  the  re- 
motest quarters  of  the  civilized  world.  Farther  still  is  a 
castle  on  a  rock,  or  some  plain  and  simple  monument  on 
the  brow  of  a  promontory,  overlooking  the  sea,  the  history 
and  design  of  which  have  long  been  forgotten.  Sometimes 
on  the  journey  the  traveler  meets  the  people  of  the  country. 
They  may  be  Druse  ladies,  richly  dressed,  and  riding  on 
donkeys — their  whole  persons  covered  with  a  veil  which  is 
supported  by  a  sort  of  horn-like  projection  from  their  fore- 
heads ;  or  a  long  train  of  mules,  laden  with  produce,  and 
descending  from  the  interior  to  the  sea ;  or  a  company  of 
shepherds  driving  their  flocks  to  or  from  their  mountain- 
pastures. 

4.  At  length  the  day's  journey  comes  to  an  end.     The 
party  encamps  for  the  night ;  and  the  next  morning,  on 
resuming  the  journey,  they  turn  from  the  shore,  and  be- 
gin to  ascend  the  mountains,  the  road  leading  them  some- 
times up  steep  and  difficult  ascents,  and  sometimes  through 
winding  and  gloomy  ravines.     Green  and  cultivated  valleys 
a [tpcar  here  and  there,  with  villages  and  scattered  habita- 
tions, and  fields  of  barley  and  maize,  and  groves  of  figs, 
olives,  and  mulberries  adorning  them.     The  road,  in  the 
mean  time,  ascending  continually,  becomes  more  and  more 
wild,  until  at  last  it  reaches  the  summit  of  the  pass,  and 
then  begins  again  to  descend.     On  the  third  day  the  trav- 
eler approaches  the  cedars. 

5.  The  phrase  "  The  Cedars,"  as  used  on  Mount  Lebanon, 
denotes  one  particular  grove  of  ancient  trees  which  stands 
at  a  little  distance  to  the  northward  from  Mount  Sunnin, 
and  has  been  held  in  great  reverence  for  many  centuries. 
The  principal  trees  that  grow  there  are  of  very  great  age, 
and  are  held  sacred  by  all  the  people  of  the  country.     They 
are  believed  to  be  a  part  of  the  original  growth  which  was 
standing  in  the  days  of  Solomon,     There  are  other  groves 


NATURAL   CURIOSITIES,  171 

of  smaller  trees,  in  various  parts  of  the  mountains,  but 
these  have  been  watched  and  visited  by  pilgrims,  and  al- 
most worshiped  by  the  simple-minded  Christians  who  have 
dwelt  around  them,  for  many  ages,  and  thus  they  occupy 
quite  a  prominent  place  among  the  monuments  of  the  his- 
tory of  mankind.  The  traveler,  when  he  at  length  draws 
near  to  the  sacred  grove,  is  filled  with  sublime  and  solemn 
emotions. 

6.  The  approach  to  the  spot  is  through  scenery  of  the 
most  delightful  character.     The  soil  of  the  valleys  is  ex- 
tremely fertile,  and  it  is  so  abundantly  watered  by  the  rills 
which   descend   from   the   mountain-sides,   that   it   yields 
spontaneously  in  great  profusion  all  that  the  peasants  who 
till  it  desire  to  produce  ;  so  that  waving  grass,  and  grain, 
and  flowering  shrubs,  and  fruitful  trees,  adorn  every  glen, 
while  the  gray  rocks  which  tower  precipitously  above  them, 
and  the  cascades  and  water-falls  which  descend  in  every 
ravine,  make  the  scene  as  romantic  and  wild  as  it  is  luxuri- 
ant and  beautiful. 

7.  The  interest  of  the  scene  and  of  the  occasion  is  great- 
ly enhanced  in  the  mind  of  the  visitor,  through  the  strange 
and  romantic  mode  of  traveling  by  which  he  reaches  the 
spot.     His  caravan  moves  slowly  in  a  long  and  winding 
train,    now   ascending,    now   descending ;    sometimes   ad- 
vancing in  a  smooth  and  even  way,  and  sometimes  cross- 
ing and  recrossing  its  own  course  in  a  zigzag  and  precipi- 
tous path. 

8.  When  at  last  the  traveler  reaches  the  grove,  he  finds 
it  to  be  of  great  extent,  and  the  principal  trees  astonish 
him  by  their  enormous  magnitude,  and  by  the  ancient  and 
venerable  appearance  which  their  trunks  assume.     Some  of 
the  trees  are  forty  feet  in  circumference  and  ninety  feet 
high,  their  trunks  being  gnarled  and  twisted,  and  marked 
in  every  way  with  all  the  characteristics  of  the  most  ven- 
erable age,     The  bark  of  some  of  the  most  conspicuous  of 


172  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

them  is  inscribed  with  the  names  of  such  of  the  distin- 
guished travelers  that  have  from  time  to  time  visited  the 
spot,  as  have  deemed  this  a  suitable  mode  of  perpetuating 
the  memory  of  their  visit. 

9.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  point  of  particular  attention 
with  all  travelers  who  have  ascended  to  this  part  of  Lebanon, 
for  the  last  three  hundred  years,  to  count  the  trees  in  this 
celebrated  grove,  and  the  discrepancy  of  the  reports  which 
they  have  brought  back  on  the  subject  affords  a  melancholy 
illustration  of  the  little  reliance  which  is  to  be  placed  on 
travelers'  stories.     At  first  they  said  there  were  five,  then 
sixteen,  then  ten,  then  twenty-five,  and  so  on  to  fifty,  one 
hundred,  five  hundred,  and  finally  one  thousand.     It  is 
true,  indeed,  that  these  accounts  extend  through  a  period 
of  three  hundred  years,  and  in  three  hundred  years,  it  must 
be  confessed,  that  there  is  time  for  a  great  many  cedars  to 
grow. 

10.  However  it  may  have  been  in  times  past,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  there  is  now,  on  the  slope  of  Mount  Sunnin,  quite 
an  extensive  tract  of  ground  covered  with  the  cedar-groves, 
though   still   there  are  among   the  other   trees  a  certain 
number  of  ancient  patriarchs,  that  in  age  and  magnitude 
infinitely  surpass  the  rest.     It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that 
these  older  trees  may  have  been  growing  there  for  a  thou- 
sand years  ;  as  the  period  of  three  hundred  years,  during 
which  they  have  been   observed  and  described  by  the  suc- 
cession of  travelers  that  have  visited  them,  has  made  no 
perceptible  change  in  their  magnitude  or  their  vigor.     And 
such  is  the  prodigious  longevity  to  which  such  trees  some- 
times attain,  that  it  is  not  impossible  that  they  may  con- 
tinue to  stand  there  for  a  thousand  years  to  come. 

Jacob  Abbott. 


NATURAL    CURIOSITIES.  173 


THE    MAELSTROM. 

1.  ON  approaching  the  Loffodeii  Islands,  we  had  a  fair 
view  of  the  last  outposts  of  the  group — the  solid  barriers 
against  which  the  utmost  fury  of  the  Atlantic  dashes  in 
vain.     This  side  of  Vaeroe  lay  the  large  Island  of  Moskoe, 
between  which  and  a  large,  solitary  rock,  in  the  middle  of 
the  strait  dividing  them,  is  the  renowned  Maelstrom — now, 
alas  !  almost  as  mythical  as  the  kraken  or  great  sea-snake 
of  the  Norwegian  fiords.     It  is  a  pity  that  the  geographical 
illusions  of  our  boyish  days  can  not  remain. 

2.  You  learn  that  the  noise  of  Niagara  can  be  heard  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  off,  and  that  "some  Indians  in 
their  canoes  have  ventured  down  it  with  safety."     Well, 
one  could  give  up  the  Indians  without  much  difficulty  ;  but 
it  is  rather  discouraging  to  step  out  at  the  Falls  depot  for 
the  first  time  and  hear  no  noise  except  "  Cab,  sir  ?"  "  Ho- 
tel, sir  ?  "     So  with  the  Maelstrom,  denoted  on  my  school- 
boy map  by  a  great  spiral  twist,  which  suggested  to  me  a 
tremendous  whirl  of  the  ocean-currents,  aided  by  the  in- 
formation that  "vessels  can  not  approach  nearer  than  seven 
miles."     In  Olney,  moreover,  there  was  a  picture  of  a  luck- 
less bark  half-way  down  the  vortex.     I  had  been  warming 
my  imagination,  as  we  came  up  the  coast,  with  Campbell's 
sonorous  lines  : 

"  Round  the  shores  where  runic  Odin 

Howls  his  war-song  to  the  gale  ; 
Round  the  isles  where  loud  Lafoden 
Whirls  to  death  the  roaring  whale  " — 

and,  as  we  looked  over  the  smooth  water  toward  Moskoe, 
felt  a  renewed  desire  to  make  an  excursion  thither  on  our 
return  from  the  north.  But,  according  to  modern  authori- 


174  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

ties  which  I  consulted,  the  Maelstrom  has  lost  all  its  ter- 
rors and  attractions. 

3.  Under  certain  conditions  of  wind  and  tide,  an  eddy 
is  formed  in  the  strait,  it  is  true,  which  may  be  dangerous 
to  small  boats  ;  but  the  place  is  by  no  means  so  much 
dreaded  as  the  Salten  Fiord,  where  the  tide,  rushing  in,  is 
caught  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  a  bore,  as  in  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  and  frequently  proves  destructive  to  the  fishing- 
craft.  It  is  the  general  opinion  that  some  of  the  rocks 
which  formerly  made  the  Maelstrom  so  terrible  have  been 
worn  away,  or  that  some  submarine  convulsion  has  taken 
place,  which  has  changed  the  action  of  the  waters ;  other- 
wise, it  is  impossible  to  account  for  the  reputation  it  once 
possessed. 

Bai/ard  Taylor. 


PART  XI. 
WILD  ANIMALS. 


LION-HUNTING    BY   GERARD. 

1.  ONE  black  lion  will   lay  waste  a  whole    district. 
Fonder  of  blood  than  of  flesh,  he  will  slay  four  or  five 
times  as  many  cattle  as  he  can  eat,  drink  their  blood,  eat 
a  few  choice  morsels  from  each,  and  leave  the  rest  to  the 
jackals  and  hyenas  ;  whence  the  old  stories  about  his  royal 
profuseness.    One  of  these  brutes  had  been  ravaging  a  fertile 
district  near  the  camp  at  which  Gerard  was  stationed  ;  the 
Arabs  sent  for  the  famous  lion-killer  and  implored  his  aid. 
tie  reconnoitered  the  locality,  and,  choosing  a  dark  night, 
stationed  himself  near  the  edge  of  a  ford  over  a  mountain- 
brook,  at  which  the  lion  usually  came  to  drink. 

2.  He  had  scarcely  taken  his  seat  upon  a  stone,  when 
his  guide  began  to  tremble  and  beg  him  to  return  to  the 
village,  urging  that  the  night  was  too  dark.     Gerard  gave 
him  leave  to  return  home,  but  the  poor  Arab  dared  not  risk 
the  journey ;  he  lay  down  in  a  group  of  lentiscuses  in  a 
dreadful  agony  of  fear. 

3.  The  lion  had  been  roaring  for  some  time,  and  the 
sound  was  drawing  nearer.     Gerard  endeavored  vainly  to 
discern  objects  around  him.     So  pitchy  dark  was  the  night 
that,  even  after  closing  his  eyes  for  two  or  three  minutes, 
he  could  only  just  make  out  the  course  of  the  stream  which 


176  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

ran  at  his  feet.  A  moment  afterward  the  lion  roared  again, 
apparently  at  a  distance  of  a  hundred  yards.  With  his  gun 
cocked,  and  his  elbow  resting  on  his  knee,  Gerard  watched 
breathless.  Nothing  could  be  seen  or  heard.  A  few  sec- 
onds elapsed ;  then  a  low,  dull  moan  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  brook,  straight  in  front  of  the  hunter.  A  single 
look,  and  there  in  the  inky  darkness  were  the  two  eyes 
of  the  lion,  burning  fiercely,  and  fixed  on  Gerard.  The 
hunter  confessed  that  he  gasped  at  the  sight,  and,  though 
the  night  was  cold,  and  he  had  been  shivering  the  moment 
before,  a  profuse  perspiration  covered  his  forehead.  With 
a  single  bound  from  where  he  was  the  brute  could  almost 
reach  his  enemy  ;  and  that  bound  made,  even  victory  was 
sure  to  cost  him  his  life. 

4.  Gerard  took  farewell  of  the  world,  and,  grasping  his 
gun  more  firmly  than  before,  put  his  finger  to  the  trigger  ; 
but  the  lion  had  taken   to  the  water,  and  was  splashing 
in  the  stream.     Gerard  listened  and  watched.     The  splash- 
ing ceased  ;  on  the  hunter's  left,  close  to  him,  he  heard  a 
soft,  dull  tread  in  the  mud.     Suddenly  turning,  he  saw  the 
lion  ascending  the  eminence  on  which  he  sat.      Useless, 
then,  to  look  for  gun-sights  ;  with  head  erect,  and  both  eyes 
open,  Gerard  fired.      By  the  light  of  the  flash  he  saw  a 
huge  hairy  mass  roll  over  ;  a  tremendous  roar  almost  deaf- 
ened him  ;  the  lion  was  splashing  and  writhing  in  the  bed 
of  the  stream.    Every  now  and  then  he  moaned  and  growled. 
It  was  too  dark  to  risk  close  quarters  ;  so  Gerard  went  home, 
promising  himself  to  return  next  morning  for  the  corpse. 

5.  By  daybreak  he  was  at  the  spot,  but  the  lion  was 
gone.      He  could  be   traced  for   a   short  distance  by  his 
blood,  but  the  spoor  was  lost  when  the  brute  took  to  the 
water.     A  band  of  Arab  hunters  was  organized  to  hunt 
him  down,  but  for  many  hours  they  beat  the  bush  and 
mountain  without  success.     Toward  evening  Gerard  heard 
a  succession   of    shouts,    and,    galloping  in   the  direction 


WILD   ANIMALS.  177 

whence  they  caine,   saw  the  Arabs  flying  like   the  wind 
before  the  lion,  who  was  chasing  them  on  three  legs. 

6.  At  sight  of  him  the  lion  stopped,  opened  his  mouth, 
and  began  to  lash  his  sides  with  his  tail.  Gerard  accepted 
the  challenge,  dismounted,  and  in  spite  of  the  entreaties, 
and  even  the  physical  efforts  of  the  frightened  Arabs,  ad- 
vanced toward  the  brute,  gun  in  hand.  The  lion  made  oil 
into  a  thicket.  Gerard  walked  round  it  cautiously,  but 
could  see  nothing.  He  ordered  an  Arab  to  throw  stones 
into  the  lion's  hiding-place.  The  first  stone  brought  him 
out,  and  with  tail  stiff  and  straight,  mane  spread  out  and 
grinning  jaws,  he  charged  the  hunter.  Gerard  sat  down 
on  the  ground.  The  Arabs  fell  to  praying,  and  roaring  : 
"  Fire  !  Why  don't  you  fire  ?  "  On  came  the  lion  in  fine 
style  till  within  six  or  eight  yards,  when  he  was  suddenly 
brought  up  by  a  hard  lump  of  lead,  which  struck  him 
an  inch  above  his  eye.  He  fell  directly,  but  rose  again, 
rearing  on  his  hind-legs.  A  second  shot  straight  through 

his  heart  put  him  out  of  pain. 

Harper's  Magazine. 


LION-HUNTING    BY   GORDON    GUMMING. 

1.  THOUGH  the  lion  seems  to  assume  it  as  his  natural 
duty  to  protect  the  lioness,  she  is  well  able  to  protect  her- 
self. Gumming  found  the  females  the  most  troublesome  of 
the  two.  He  had  lost  some  cattle,  and  made  a  shrewd  guess 
as  to  the  identity  of  the  thief,  when,  in  riding  out,  he  fell 
in  with  a  lioness  devouring  a  blesbok.  At  sight  of  the 
hunters  she  made  for  the  mountains  ;  but  Gumming,  being 
well  mounted,  gave  hot  chase,  and  gained  on  her  rapidly. 
Being  within  ear-shot,  he  shouted  to  her  to  stop — that  he 
had  something  to  say  to  her. 


178  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

2.  She  did  stop  ;  would  not  turn  round,  but  crouched 
with  tail  turned  to  the  hunters,  as  though  doubtful  whether 
they  were  worth  looking  at.     As  the  sound  of  the  horses' 
hoofs  reached  her,  she   rose,  faced   about,  and  began   to 
gnash  her  teeth  and  flourish  her  tail,     dimming  and  his 
men  dismounted  and  looked  to  their  priming.     This  found 
to  be  in  order,  one  of  the  men  proceeded  calmly  to  fasten 
the  horses  together. 

3.  The  lioness  was   puzzled.      After   a  few  moments' 
observation  she  advanced  on  the   hunters  slowly.      Gum- 
ming orders  his  most  trusty  man  to  reserve  his  fire  for  her 
last  spring  ;  kneels,  and  fires  at  sixty  yards.     Though  hit 
in  the  shoulder,  she  charges  furiously  and  knocks  one  of 
the  horses  down.       "  At  this  moment  Stofolus's  rifle  ex- 
ploded in  his  hand,  and  Kleinboy,  whom  Gumming  had 
ordered  to  stand  by  him,  danced  about  like  a  duck  in  a 
gale   of  wind."      Gumming  stood   out  from   the  horses, 
watching  for  a  second  shot  ;  and  the  lioness  seeing  him, 
left  the  horse  and  made  a  dash  at  him.     His  rifle  was  true, 
and  at  a  few  yards  the  lioness  was  stretched. 

4.  When  she  has  her  young  with  her  she  will  never  fly. 
Gerard  watched  a  long  time  in  the  woods  for  a  lioness 
which   had    committed   fearful   depredations    among    the 
Arabs.      He   was  losing  hope  of  seeing  her  after  several 
nights'  watching,  when  he  saw  something  move  near  the 
body  of  a  horse  at  the  bottom  of  a  valley  below  him.     A 
single  glance  satisfied  him  that  it  was  the  lioness  with  her 
cub.     They  played  around  the  carcass  a  short  while  ;  then 
the  cub  began  to  help  himself. 

5.  At  that  very  moment  the  mother  saw  Gerard  sitting 
on  a  rock  above.     With  a  spring  like  lightning  she  seized 
her  cub  by  the  back  and  dashed  off  with  him.     They  were 
lost  to  sight  in  an  instant.     Gerard  sat  a  while  watching 
for  some  sign  of  their  return  ;  he  was  beginning  to  lose 
hope,  and  to  regret  that  he  had  not  fired  when  he  first  saw 


WILD  ANIMALS.  179 

the  pair,  when  he  heard  a  noise  in  the  leaves  beside  him. 
It  was  such  a  noise,  he  says,  as  a  mouse  would  make  in 
running  over  the  leaves.  His  sportsman's  tact  revealed 
what  it  was  ;  and,  as  he  looked,  two  large  paws,  a  pair  of 
long  mustaches,  and  an  enormous  nose  appeared  succes- 
sively to  confirm  the  impression.  His  gun  was  on  full 
cock  at  his  shoulder  ;  the  moment  he  saw  the  red,  glaring 
eyes  he  fired,  and,  at  that  short  distance,  the  iron  slug 
with  which  he  had  loaded  his  piece  was  fatal.  The  lioness 
had  placed  her  cub  in  safety,  and  was  coming  deliberately 

to  attack  the  hunter. 

Harper's  Magazine. 


TIGER-HUNTING    IN    INDIA. 

1.  IN  tiger-shooting  on  foot  there  appears  to  be,  com- 
paratively speaking,  but  little  danger  to  any  one,  if  all  are 
kept  in  a  compact  body.     Lieutenant  Rice  invariably  in- 
sisted on  the  observance  of  this  rule.     His  hunting  pro- 
cession, as  described  by  himself,  presented  a  singular  spec- 
tacle.   In  front,  and  stooping  down  beside  him,  is  the  head 
shikaree,  or  chief  huntsman,  who,  by  carefully  observing 
each  foot-print  or  slightest  drop  of  blood,  points  out  the 
direction  which  the  wounded  game  has  gone.     Keeping 
guard  over  the  shikaree,  with  full-cocked  rifles,  the  lieu- 
tenant himself  leads  the  wedge-shaped  procession.     Imme- 
diately behind  him  follow  the  best  and  steadiest  men,  carry- 
ing the  spare  loaded  guns. 

2.  Then  comes  the  band,   consisting  of  four  or   five 
Kettle-drums  and  one  big  drum,  a  man  ringing  a  tremen- 
dous bell,  with  perhaps  others,  either  blowing  horns,  beat- 
ing cymbals,  firing  pistols,  or  domj  anything  else  to  make 
the  most  horrible  din  that  they  can.     On  either  side  of  the 
band  are  men  with  halberds  or  formidable-looking  spears  ; 


180 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


their  duty  is  to  keep  the  beaters  well  together  while  passing 
through  grass  that  is  often  high  overhead.  Last  of  all 
come  a  number  of  men  who  are  constantly  engaged  in 


er  in  its  Native  Jungle. 


throwing  large  stones,  which  fall  just  in  front  and  on  all 
sides  of  the  party,  and  which  will  start  a  wounded  tiger 
when  he  would  not  otherwise  move  from  his  place  of  con- 


WILD  ANIMALS.  181 

cealment.     Generally,  however,   the  noise  is  sufficient  to 
rouse  the  animal. 

3.  Overlooking   the  whole   procession   is   a  man   in  a 
tree,  which  he  climbs  from  time  to  time  in  the  progress 
of  the  march,  and  keeps  a  good  lookout  on  all  sides  for 
any  large  game.     The  whole  party  moves  at  a  snail's  pace, 
and  yell  with  all  their  might.      No  tiger  will  face  such 
a  mass  of  men  and  noise.     Sometimes  one  will  charge  to 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  procession,  but  he  then  inva- 
riably turns  off,  and  is  wounded  or  shot  dead  before  he  can 
escape. 

4.  Bull-buffaloes  are  rarely  killed  by  tigers.     These  ani- 
mals are  almost  tiger-proof,  unless  it  be  some  solitary  strag- 
gler that  is  attacked.     When  a  buffalo  is  seized  by  a  tiger 
all  the  others  immediately  hasten  to  the  rescue,  and  either 
drive  off  the  tiger  or  trample  and  gore  him  with  their  hoofs 
and  horns.     The  men  and  boys  who  herd  buffaloes  are  well 
aware  of  this  ;  and,  fearlessly  seated  on  the  backs  of  the 
enormous  creatures,  they  do  not  hesitate  to  drive  them  for 
pasture  into  any  swamp  or  dense  cover,  though  well  aware 
that  tigers  are  lying  in  the  same  spot. 

5.  It  is  the  habit  of  buffaloes  to  lie  for  hours  together 
in  the  water,  during  the  intense  heat  of  the  Indian  sum- 
mer, soaking  and  chewing  the  cud,  their  eyes  and  noses 
alone  visible,  and  their  bodies  perfectly  free  from  the  an- 
noyance of  flies.    They  get  rabidly  excited  on  smelling  the 
blood  or  hearing  the  roar  of  a  tiger,  and,  with  loud  bellow- 
ings,  will  rush  into  the  dense  cover,  crushing  down  the 
bushes  on  all  sides,  and  madly  butting  with  their  horns  at 
everything  in  their  way. 

6.  Lieutenant  Eice's  third  campaign  in  tiger-shooting 
was  commenced   under  unfavorable  auspices.      A  serious 
and  well-nigh  fatal  accident  happened  to  Mr.  Elliott,  one 
of  his  party.     They  were  beating  at  the  time  a  ravine  in 
the  vicinity  of  Dowlutpoora,  and,  to  overlook  the  high  grass 


182  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

around,  both  Elliott  and  Rice  had  mounted  a  small  thorn- 
tree.  Presently  a  fine  tiger  appeared,  walking  straight 
toward  them.  As  ill  luck  would  have  it,  a  man  who  had 
climbed  another  tree  called  out  at  the  moment,  and  the 
noise  alarmed  the  tiger,  who  at  once  stopped,  and  then, 
like  lightning,  bounded  off  in  another  direction. 

7.  Rice  and  Elliott  both  fired,  and  wounded  the  brute 
before  he  escaped,  but  not  very  severely,  as  the  distance 
was  too  great  for  an .  effective  shot.      They   immediately 
began  to  follow  him  up.     After  making  their  way  through 
a  dense  patch  of  thorn-bushes  and  high  grass,  they  arrived 
at  an  open  space,  where  all  traces  of   the  tiger  abruptly 
ceased.      The  two  hunters  had  advanced  a  few  steps  in 
front  of  the  men  to  examine  the  ground  more  minutely, 
and  while  thus  engaged  they  were  startled  by  a  loud  roar, 
which  proceeded  from  a  small  ditch  some  two  or  three 
yards  to  their  right.     The  roar  was  instantly  followed  by 
the  tiger,  who  was  charging  down  upon  the  party. 

8.  Rice  had  barely  time  to  discharge  the  contents  of 
both  barrels  of  his  rifle  into  the  animal's  chest ;  these  shots 
made  him  swerve  from  his  course  and  spring  upon  Elliott, 
who  had  no  opportunity  to  get  his  weapon  ready,  and  who 
was  irresistibly  borne  back  by  the  shock.      The  shikaree 
quickly  handed  Lieutenant  Rice  his  spare  guns,  and  he  as 
quickly  fired  two  shots  into  the  beast's  shoulder  as  he  stood 
over  Elliott,  but  the  wounds  had  little  effect.     The  tiger 
commenced  dragging  its  prey  backward  by  the  upper  part 
of  his  left  arm,  which  it  had  seized  in  its  jaw. 

9.  The  ground  was  uneven  and  covered  with  broken 
pieces  of  rock,   and  Lieutenant  Rice  was  nervous  about 
firing  lest  he  should  hit  his  friend,  whose  face  was  touch= 
ing  the  brute's  head.      Elliott,   in   the   mean   time,   had 
fainted.     At  last,  after  aiming  two  or  three  times  in  vain, 
Lieutenant  Rice  took  advantage  of  a  favorable  chance  that 
was  luckily  presented  ;  his  ball  struck  the  tiger  on  the  top 


WILD  ANIMALS.  183 

of  his  skull,  whereupon  it  dropped  its  victim  and  rolled 
over  dead. 

10.  Another  shot  was  fired  to  make  certain,  and  Elliott 
was  then  pulled  out  from  under  the  tiger.  He  was  quite 
sensible  and  asked  for  water,  which  was  at  once  given  him. 
His  arm  was  frightfully  bitten,  but  beyond  this  he  had  suf- 
fered no  serious  injury.  When  first  seized  he  had  narrowly 
escaped  a  blow  which  the  tiger  had  aimed  at  him  with  his 
paw,  but  which  he  had  fortunately  warded  off  with  his 
uplifted  rifle.  The  stock  of  the  weapon  was  marked  with 
the  animal's  claws,  and  the  triggers  and  guard  were  com- 
pletely flattened. 

Harper's  Magazine. 


ELEPHANT-HUNTING    IN    CEYLON. 

1.  .THE  elephants  of  Ceylon  are  not  as  extensively  en- 
gaged in  the  "  ivory-business  "  as  those  of  Africa.  Instead 
of  the  long  tusks  which  ornament  the  latter,  the  former 
have  merely  " grubbers"  three  or  four  inches  long,  which 
are  not  considered  worth  the  trouble  of  extracting.  Like 
most  wild  beasts  in  tropical  countries  they  avoid  the  sun, 
and  feed  mainly  in  the  night,  spending  the  hot  part  of  the 
day  in  the  impenetrable  jungle.  From  this  they  emerge  at 
about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  return  by  seven  in 
the  morning.  Their  favorite  food  is  the  bamboo,  lemon- 
grass,  and  sedges,  growing  on  the  banks  of  rivers,  ponds, 
and  swamps.  When  these  are  destroyed  by  drought  in  one 
part  of  the  country,  they  migrate  to  another.  They  are 
usually  seen  in  herds  of  eight  or  ten,  though  they  some- 
times form  companies  much  more  numerous.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  herd  are  usually  females.  The  male  is  larger 
and  more  ferocious  than  the  female. 


184  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

2.  Not  unfrequently  an  old  bull  is  found  who  has  made 
up  his  mind  to   "cut"  society,  and  live   a   solitary  life. 
Such  a  one  is  styled  by  the  natives  a  "rogue,"  and  a  sad 
rogue  and  rascal  he  is.     Deprived  of  the  ameliorating  in- 
fluences of  female  companionship,  he  becomes  doubly  vi- 
cious.   He  selects  some  neighborhood  for  his  special  haunt, 
seldom  straying  to  any  great  distance  from  it.     In  course 
of  time  he  becomes  a  perfect  nuisance,  waylays  the  inhab- 
itants,   chases   everybody  no  matter  how  inoffensive,  and 
breaks  into  the  paddy-fields  of  the  natives,  perfectly  re- 
gardless of  their  night-fires  and  watches.     He  appears  to 
be  in  bad  humor  with  the  world  generally,  and  with  him- 
self in  particular,  spending  the  greater  part  of  his  time, 
when  not  actually  feeding,  in  pacing  back  and  forth  with 
his  tail  cocked  in  the  air,  ready  for  a  rush  on  any  one  that 
approaches  his  haunt. 

3.  The  pluck  of  these  "  rogues  "  is  equal  to  their  feroc- 
ity, and  both  are  backed  up  by  their  wonderful  cunning. 
When  they  travel  in  the  day-time,  they  always  go  by  the 
wind,  and  such  is  the  keenness  of  their  faculty  of  smell- 
ing that  nothing  can  follow  on  their  track  without  their 
knowledge.     They  will  scent  a  man,  in  particular,  at  an 
immense  distance.      No  matter  how  noiselessly  the  hunt- 
er may  follow  on  his  track,  the  tainted  breeze  gives  the 
"rogue"  warning  of  the  approach  of  his  foe.     He  pauses 
with  tail  erect,  ears  flung  forward,  and  trunk  in  the  air, 
its  distended  tip  pointing  in  the  direction  from  which  the 
danger  approaches.     Every  faculty  is  on  the  alert,  every 
nerve  is  strained  to  its  utmost  tension  ;  but  not  a  move- 
ment in  the  thick  jungle  denotes  his  immediate  presence 
to  the  hunter  who  is  tracking  him,  and  who   strives  in 
vain  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  him  through  the  dense  under- 
brush.    Whether  he  be  near  or  remote,  the  hunter  has  no 
means  of  knowing,  and  so  he  creeps  nearer  and  nearer  his 
ambushed  foe. 


WILD  ANIMALS.  185 

4.  Suddenly  a  crash  is  heard  in  the  thick  jungle,  and 
with  a  shrill  trumpeting  the  elephant  is  down  upon  him  in 
full  charge.     Woe  to  the  hunter  if  his  aim  fail,  his  nerves 
tremble,  his  foot  stumble,  or  his  rifle  miss  fire  !     In  a  mo- 
ment he   is   crushed  out   of  all  semblance  of  humanity. 
When  the  "  rogue  "  is  pursued  in  the  open  forest  or  on  the 
naked  plain,  he  usually  retreats,  but  the  chances  are  ten  to 
one  that  he  is  merely  enticing  the  hunter  to  follow  him  to 
some  favorite  haunt,   among  the  dense  jungle  or  the  tall 
grass,  from  which  he  will  charge  at  some  unexpected  mo- 
ment. 

5.  One  day,  in  company  with  a  brother  hunter  B , 

and  a  number  of  natives  to  carry  guns,  I  went  out  to  find 
elephants.     W^e  came  to  a  long,  narrow  pond,  with  a  clay- 
ey margin,  bordered  by  a  partially  impenetrable  jungle, 
where  we  found  thirteen  "rogues,"  all  separate  except  one 
pair,  who  appeared  to  be  chums.     The  natives  told  us  they 
were  a  notorious  couple,  and  had  long  been  the  terror  of 
the  country  round.     After  killing  one,  the  rest  made  off, 
and  we  pursued  them  along  the  muddy  margin  of  the  pond. 

6.  We  had  slipped  and  plunged  and  struggled  along  for 
some  distance,  when  we  were  suddenly  checked  in  our  ad- 
vance.    We  had  entered  a  small  plot  of  deep  mud  and  rank 
grass,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  dense  rattan  jungle.    This 
stuff  is  one  woven  mass  of  hooked  thorns  ;  long  tendrils 
armed  in  the  same  manner,  though  not  larger  than  whip- 
cord, wind  themselves  round  the  parent  canes,  and  form  a 
jungle  which  even  elephants  dislike  to  enter. 

7.  Half-way  up  to  our  knees  in  mud,  we  stood  in  this 
small  open  space  of  about  thirty  feet  by  twenty.     Around 
us  was  an  opaque  screen  of  this  impenetrable  jungle ;  the 
lake  lay  about  fifty  yards  upon  our  left,  behind  the  thick 
rattan.     The  gun-bearers  had  gone  ahead  somewhere,  and 
were  far  in  advance.     We  were  at  a  stand-still.     Leaning 
upon  my  long  rifle,  I  stood  within  four  feet  of  the  wall  of 


186  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

the  jungle  which  divided  us  from  the  lake.     I  said  to  B : 

"  The  trackers  are  all  wrong,  and  have  gone  too  far.  I  am 
convinced  that  the  elephants  must  have  entered  somewhere 
near  this  place."  Little  did  I  think  that  at  that  very  mo- 
ment they  were  within  a  few  feet  of  us.  B was  stand- 
ing behind  me  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  small  opening, 
about  seven  yards  from  the  jungle.  I  suddenly  heard  a 
deep  guttural  sound  in  the  thick  rattan  within  four  feet  of 
me  ;  and  at  the  same  instant  the  whole  tangled  fabric  bent 
over  me,  and,  bursting  aside,  showed  the  furious  head  of  an 
elephant,  with  uplifted  trunk,  in  full  charge  upon  me. 

8.  I  had  barely  time  to  cock  my  rifle,  and  the  barrel  al- 
most touched  him  as  I  fired.     I  knew  it  was  in  vain,  as  his 
trunk  was  raised,  so  that  the  bullet  could  not  touch  his 
brain.     B fired  his  right-hand  barrel  at  the  same  mo- 
ment, without  effect,  from  the  same  cause.    I  jumped  on  one 
side,  and  attempted  to  spring  through  the  deep  mud.     It 
was  of  no  use  ;  the  long  grass  entangled  my  feet,  and  in  an- 
other instant  I  lay  sprawling  in  the  enraged  elephant's  path, 
within  a  single  foot  of  him.     In  that  moment  of  suspense 
I  expected  to  hear  the  crack  of  my  own  bones  as  his  mass- 
ive foot  would  be  upon  me.     I  heard  the  crack  of  B 's 

last  barrel,  I  felt  a  spongy  weight  strike  my  heel,  and,  turn- 
ing quickly  heels  over  head,  I  rolled  a  few  paces  and  re- 
gained my  feet.     The  last  shot  had  floored  him  just  as  he 
was  upon  me.     The  end  of  his  trunk  had  fallen  upon  my 
heel.     Still  he  was  not  dead,  but  he  struck  at  me  with  his 
trunk  as  I  passed  round  his  head  to  give  him  a  finisher  with 
the  four-ounce  rifle  which  I  had  snatched  from  our  soli- 
tary gun-bearer. 

9.  My  back  was  touching  the  jungle  from  which  the 
rogue  had  just  charged,  and  I  was  almost  in  the  act  of  fir- 
ing through  the  temple  of  the  still  struggling  elephant, 
when  I  heard  a  tremendous  crash  in  the  jungle  directly 
upon  me.     I  threw  my  whole  weight  back  against  the  thick 


WILD  ANIMALS.  187 

rattans  to  avoid  him,  and  the  next  moment  his  foot  was 
planted  within  an  inch  of  mine.  His  lofty  head  was  passing 

over  me  in  full  charge  at  B ,  who  was  unloaded,  when, 

holding  the  four-ounce  rifle  perpendicularly,  I  fired  exactly 
under  his  throat.  I  thought  he  would  fall  upon  me  and 

crush  me,  but  this  shot  was  my  only  chance,  as  B was 

perfectly  helpless. 

10.  A  dense  cloud  of  smoke  from  the  heavy  charge  of 
powder  for  the  moment  obscured  everything.  I  had  jumped 
out  of  the  way  the  instant  after  firing.  The  elephant  did 
not  fall ;  but  he  had  his  death-wound.  The  ball  had  sev- 
ered his  jugular,  and  the  blood  poured  from  the  wound. 
He  stopped,  but,  collecting  his  stunned  energies,  he 

stumbled  forward  toward  B .     He,  however,  avoided 

him  by  running  to  one  side,  and  the  wounded  brute  stag- 
gered on  through  the  jungle.  We  then  loaded  the  guns. 
The  first  "rogue "  was  now  quite  dead,  and  we  followed  on 
in  pursuit  of  "rogue"  number  two.  We  heard  distant 
shots,  and  upon  arriving  at  the  spot  we  found  the  gun- 
bearers.  They  had  heard  the  wounded  elephant  crashing 
through  the  jungle,  and  had  given  him  a  volley  just  as  he 
was  crossing  the  water  over  which  the  herd  had  previously 
escaped.  They  described  him  as  perfectly  helpless  from  his 
wound,  and  they  imagined  that  he  had  fallen  in  the  thick 
bushes  on  the  opposite  bank.  We  had  then  no  means  of 
crossing,  but  in  a  few  days  the  elephant  was  found  lying 
dead  on  the  spot  where  they  supposed  he  had  crossed. 


HUNTING    THE   OSTRICH. 

1.  WITH  the  Arabs  of  the  desert,  the  chase  of  the  ostrich 
is  the  most  attractive  and  eagerly  sought  of  the  many  aris- 
tocratic diversions  in  which  they  indulge.  The  first  point 


188  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

attended  to  is  a  special  preparation  of  their  horses.  Seven 
or  eight  days  before  the  intended  hunt  they  are  entirely 
deprived  of  straw  and  grass,  and  fed  on  barley  only.  They 
are  only  allowed  to  drink  once  a  day,  and  that  at  sunset— 
the  time  when  the  water  begins  to  freshen  ;  at  that  time 
also  they  are  washed.  They  take  long  daily  exercises,  and 
are  occasionally  galloped,  at  which  time  care  is  taken  that 
the  harness  is  right,  and  suited  to  the  chase  of  the  ostrich. 
"  After  seven  or  eight  days,"  says  the  Arab,  "  the  stomach 
of  the  horse  disappears,  while  the  chest,  the  breast,  and  the 
croup  remain  in  flesh  ;  the  animal  is  then  fitted  to  endure 
fatigue." 

2.  The  harness  used  for  the  purpose  in  question  is 
lighter  than  ordinary,  especially  the  stirrups  and  saddle, 
and  the  martingale  is  removed.     The  bridle,  too,  under- 
goes many  metamorphoses  ;    the  mountings  and  the  ear- 
flaps  are  taken  away,  as  too  heavy.     The  bit  is  made  of  a 
camel-rope,  without  a  throat-band,  and  the  frontlet  is  also 
of  cord,  and  the  reins  though  strong  are  very  light.     The 
period  most  favorable  for  ostrich-hunting  is  that  of  the 
great  heat ;  the  higher  the  temperature  the  less  is  the  os- 
trich able  to  defend  himself.     The  Arabs  describe  the  pre- 
cise time  as  that,  when  a  man  stands  upright,  his  shadow 
has  the  length  only  of  the  sole  of  his  foot. 

3.  Each  horseman  is  accompanied  by  a  servant,  mounted 
on  a  camel,  carrying  four  goat-skins  filled  with  water,  bar- 
ley for  the  horse,  wheat-flour  for  the  rider,  some  dates,  a 
kettle  to  cook  the  food,  and  everything  which  can  possibly 
be  required  for  the  repair  of  the  harness.     The  horseman 
contents  himself  with  linen  vest  and  trousers,  and  covers 
his  neck  and  ears  with  a  light  material  tied  with  a  strip  of 
camel's  hide  ;  his  feet  are  protected  with  sandals,  and  his 
legs  with  light  gaiters.     He  is  armed  with  neither  gun  nor 
pistol,   his  only  weapon  being  a  wild-olive   or   tamarind 
stick,  five  or  six  feet  long,  with  a  heavy  knot  at  one  end. 


WILD  ANIMALS.  189 

4.  The  hunters  start  in  the  morning.     After  one  or  two 
days'  journey,  when  they  have  arrived  near  the  spot  pointed 
out,  and  they  begin  to  perceive  traces  of  their  game,  they 
halt  and  camp.     The  next  day  two  intelligent  slaves,  al- 
most entirely  stripped,  are  sent  to  reconnoiter ;  they  each 
carry  a  goat-skin  at  their  side,  and  a  little  bread ;  they 
walk  until  they  meet  with  the  ostriches,  which  are  gen- 
erally found  in  elevated  places.     As  soon  as  the  game  is  in 
view  one  lies  down  to  watch,  the  other  returns  to  convey 
the  information.     The  ostriches  are  found  in  troops  com- 
prising sometimes  as  many  as  sixty,  but  at  the  pairing-time 
they  are  more  scattered,  three  or  four  couples  remaining  to- 
gether. 

5.  The  horsemen,  guided  by  the  scout,  travel  gently 
toward  the  birds ;  the  nearer  they  approach  the  greater  is 
their  caution,  and,  when  they  reach  the  last  ridge  which 
conceals  them  from  the  view  of  their  game,  they  dismount, 
and  two  creep  forward  to  ascertain  if  they  are  still  there. 
Should  such  be  the  case,  a  moderate  quantity  of  water  is 
given  to  the  horses,  the  baggage  is  left,  and  each  man 
mounts,  carrying  at  his  side  a  goat-skin.    The  servants  and 
camels  follow  the  track  of  the  horsemen,   carrying  with 
them  only  a  little  corn  and  water. 

6.  The  exact  position  of   the  ostriches  being  known, 
the  plans  are  arranged  ;  the  horsemen  divide  and  form  a 
circle  round  the  game  at  such  a  distance  as  not  to  be  seen. 
The  servants  wait  where  the  horsemen  have  separated,  and 
as  soon  as  they  see  them  at  their  posts  they  walk  right 
before  them  ;  the  ostriches  fly,  but  are  met  by  the  hunters, 
who  do  nothing  at  first  but  drive  them  back  into  the  circle  ; 
thus  their  strength  is  exhausted  by  being  made  to  continu- 
ally run  round  the  ring. 

7.  At  the  first  signs  of  fatigue  in  the  birds,  the  horse- 
men dash  in — presently  the  flock  separates  ;  the  exhausted 
birds  are  seen  to  open  their  wings,  which  is  a  sign  of  great 


190  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

exhaustion  ;  the  horsemen,  certain  of  their  prey,  now  re- 
press their  horses  ;  each  hunter  selects  his  ostrich,  runs  it 
down,  and  finishes  it  by  a  blow  on  the  head  with  the  stick 
above  mentioned.  The  moment  the  bird  falls  the  man 
jumps  off  his  horse  and  cuts  her  throat,  taking  care  to  hold 
the  neck  at  such  a  distance  as  not  to  soil  the  plumage  of 
the  wings.  The  male  bird,  while  dying,  utters  loud  moans, 
but  the  female  dies  in  silence. 

8.  To  have  the  stomach  of  an  ostrich  has  become  pro- 
verbial, and  with  good  reason  ;  for  this  bird  stands  enviably 
forward  in  respect  to  its  wonderful  powers  of  digestion, 
which  are  scarcely  inferior  to  its  voracity.  Its  natural 
food  consists  of  vegetable  substances,  especially  grain  ;  and 
the  ostrich  is  a  .most  destructive  enemy  to  the  crops  of 
African  farmers.  But  its  sense  of  taste  is  so  obtuse  that 
scraps  of  leather,  old  nails,  bits  of  tin,  buttons,  keys,  coins, 
and  pebbles  are  devoured  with  equal  relish — in  fact,  noth- 
ing comes  amiss.  But  in  this  it  doubtless  follows  an  in- 
stinct, for  these  hard  bodies  assist,  like  the  gravel  in  the 
crops  of  our  domestic  poultry,  in  grinding  down  and  pre- 
paring for  digestion  ordinary  food. 


THE    GORILLA. 

1.  As  we  were  cautiously  making  our  way  through  the 
jungle,  suddenly  the  guide  uttered  a  little  cluck  with  his 
tongue,  which  is  the  native's  way  of  showing  that  some- 
thing is  stirring,  and  that  a  sharp  lookout  is  necessary. 
And  presently  I  noticed,  ahead  of  us  seemingly,  a  noise  as 
of  some  one  breaking  down  branches  or  twigs  of  trees. 

2.  This  was  the  gorilla,  I  knew  at  once,  by  the  eager 
and  satisfied  looks  of  the  men.     They  looked  once  more 
carefully  at  their  guns,  to  see  if  by  any  chance  the  powder 


WILD  ANIMALS.  191 

had  fallen  out  of  the  pans  ;  I  also  examined  mine,  to  make 
sure  that  all  was  right,  and  then  we  marched  on  cau- 
tiously. 

3.  The  singular  noise  of  the  breaking  of  tree-branches 
continued.     We  walked  with  the  greatest  care,  making  no 
noise  at  all.     The  countenances  of  the  men  showed  that 
they  thought  themselves  engaged  in  a  very  serious  under- 
taking ;    but   we   pushed  on,    until   we    thought   we   saw 
through  the  thick  woods  the  moving  of  the  branches  and 
small  trees  which  the  great  beast  was  tearing  down,  proba- 
bly to  get  from  them  the  berries  and  fruits  he  lives  on. 

4.  Suddenly,  as  we  were  yet  creeping  along,  in  silence 
which  made  a  heavy  breath  seem  loud  and  distinct,  the 
woods  were  filled  with  the  tremendous  barking  roar  of  the 
gorilla. 

5.  Then  the  underbrush  swayed  rapidly  just  ahead,  and 
presently  before  us  stood  an  immense  male  gorilla.     He 
had  gone  through  the  jungle  on  his  all-fours  ;  but  when  he 
saw  our  party  he  erected  himself  and  looked  us  boldly  in 
the  face.     He  stood  about  a  dozen  yards  from  us,  and  was 
a  sight  I  think  never  to  forget.     Nearly  six  feet  high,  with 
immense  body,  huge  chest,  and  great  muscular  arms,  with 
fiercely  glaring,  large,    deep-gray  eyes,  and   a  malignant 
expression  of  face,  which  seemed  to  me  like  some  night- 
mare vision ;  thus  stood  before  us  the  king  of  the  African 
forests. 

6.  He  was  not  afraid  of  us.     He  stood  there,  and  beat 
his  breast  with  his  huge  fists  till  it  resounded  like  an  im- 
mense bass-drum,  which  is  their  mode  of  offering  defiance  ; 
meantime  giving  vent  to  roar  after  roar. 

7.  The  roar  of  the  gorilla  is  the  most  singular  and  awful 
noise  heard  in  these  African  woods.    It  begins  with  a  sharp 
bark  like  an  angry  dog,  then  glides  into  a  deep  bass  roll, 
which  literally  and  closely  resembles  the  roll  of  distant 
thunder  along  the  sky,  for  which  I  have  sometimes  been 


192  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

tempted  to  take  it  when  I  did  not  see  the  animal.  So  deep 
is  it  that  it  seems  to  proceed  less  from  the  mouth  and  throat 
than  from  the  deep  chest  and  vast  abdomen. 

8.  His  eyes  began  to  flash  fiercer  fire  as  we  stood  mo- 
tionless on  the  defensive,  and  the  crest  of  short  hair  on  his 
forehead  began  to  twitch  rapidly  up  and  down,  while  his 
powerful  fangs  were  shown  as  he  again  sent  forth  a  thun- 
derous roar.     And  now  truly  he  reminded  me  of  nothing 
but  some  terrible  dream-creature — a  being  of  that  hideous 
order,  half  man  half  beast,  which  we  find  pictured  by  old 
artists  in  some  representations  of  the  infernal  regions.     He 
advanced  a  few  steps,  then  stopped  to  utter  that  hideous 
roar  again ;  advanced  again,  and  finally  stopped  when  at  a 
distance  of  about  six  yards  from  us.    And  here,  as  he  began 
another  of  his  roars  and  beating  his  breast  in  rage,  we  fired 
and  killed  him. 

9.  With  a  groan,  which  had  something  terribly  human 
in  it,  and  yet  was  full  of  brutishness,  it  fell  forward  on  its 
face.     The  body  shook  convulsively  for  a  few  minutes,  the 
limbs  moved  about  in  a  struggling  way,  and  then  all  was 
quiet ;  death  had  done  its  work,  and  I  had  leisure  to  exam- 
ine the  huge  body.     It  proved  to  be  five  feet  eight  inches 
high,  and  the  muscular  development  of  the  arms  and  breast 
showed  what  immense  strength  it  possessed. 

Du  Chaillu. 


PART  XII. 
NATIONAL  CHARACTERISTICS. 


RURAL    LIFE    fN    SWEDEN. 

1 .  THEEE  is  something  patriarchal  still  lingering  about 
rural  life  in  Sweden,  which  renders  it  a  fit  theme  for  song. 
Almost  primeval  simplicity  reigns  over  that  northern  land, 
almost  primeval  solitude  and  stillness.     You  pass  out  from 
the  gate  of  the  city,  and,  as  if  by  magic,  the  scene  changes 
to  a  wild  woodland  landscape.     Around  you  are  forests  of 
fir.     Overhead  hang  the  long,  fan-like  branches,  trailing 
with  moss,  and  heavy  with  red  and  blue  cones.     Under  foot 
is  a  carpet  of  yellow  leaves  ;  and  the  air  is  warm  and  balmy. 
On  a  wooden  bridge  you  cross  a  little  silver  stream ;  and 
anon  come  forth  into  a  pleasant  and  sunny  land  of  farms. 
Wooden  fences  divide  the  adjoining  fields.     Across  the  road 
are  gates  which  are  opened  by  troops  of  children. 

2.  The  peasants  take  off  their  hats  as  you  pass  ;  you 
sneeze,  and  they  cry,  "  God  bless  you  ! "     The  houses  in  the 
villages  and  smallest  towns  are  all  built  of  hewed  timber, 
and  for  the  most  part  painted  red.     The  floors  of  the  tav- 
erns are  strewed  with  the  fragrant  tips  of  fir-boughs.     In 
many  villages  there  are  no  taverns,  and  the  peasants  take 
turns  in  receiving  travelers.     The  thrifty  housewife  shows 
you  into  the  best  chamber,  the  walls  of  which  are  hung 
round  with  rude  pictures  from  the  Bible ;  and  brings  you 


194  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

her  heavy  silver  spoons — an  heirloom — to  dip  the  curdled 
milk  from  the  pan.  You  have  oaten  cakes,  baked  some 
months  before ;  or  bread  with  anise-seed  and  coriander  in 
it,  or  perhaps  a  little  pine-bark. 

3.  Meanwhile   the    sturdy   husband   has  brought    his 
horses  from  the  plow  and  harnessed  them  to  your  carriage. 
Solitary  travelers  come  and  go  in  uncouth  one-horse  chaises. 
Most  of  them  have  pipes  in  their  mouths,  and  hanging 
around  their  necks  in  front  a  leather  wallet,  in  which  they 
carry  tobacco,  and  the  great  bank-notes  of  the  country  as 
large  as  your  two  hands.     You  meet,  also,  groups  of  Dale- 
carlian  peasant- women,  traveling  homeward  or  town  ward  in 
pursuit  of  work.     They  walk  barefoot,  carrying  in  their 
hands  their  shoes,  which  have  high  heels  under  the  hollow 
of  the  foot,  and  soles  of  birch-bark. 

4.  Frequent,  too,  are  the  village  churches,  standing  by 
the  road-side,  each  in  its  own  little  garden  of  Gethsemane. 
In  the  parish  register  great  events  are  doubtless  recorded. 
Some  old  king  was  christened  or  buried  in  that  church ; 
and  a  little  sexton,  with  a  rusty  key,  shows  you  the  bap- 
tismal font,  or  the  coffin.     In  the  church-yard  are  a  few 
flowers,  and  much  green  grass ;  and  daily  the  shadow  of 
the  church-spire,  with  its  long,  tapering  finger,  counts  the 
tombs,  representing  a  dial-plate  of  human  life,  on  which 
the  hours  and  minutes  are  the  graves  of  men. 

5.  The  stones  are  flat  and  large  and  low,  and  perhaps 
sunken,  like  the  roofs  of  old  houses.     On  some  are  armorial 
bearings  ;  on  others  only  the  initials  of  the  poor  tenants, 
with  a  date,  as  on  the  Dutch  cottages.     They  all  sleep  with 
their  heads  to  the  westward.     Each  held  a  lighted  taper  in 
his  hand  when  he  died  ;  and  in  his  coffin  were  placed  his 
little  heart-treasures,   and  a  piece  of  money  for  his  last 
journey.     Babes  that  came  lifeless  into  the  world  were  car- 
ried in  the  arms  of  gray-haired  old  men  to  the  only  cradle 
they  ever  slept  in  ;  and  in  the  shroud  of  the  dead  mother 


NATIONAL    CHARACTERISTICS.  195 

were  laid  the  little  garments  of  the  child  that  lived  and 
died  in  her  bosom.  And  over  this  scene  the  village  pastor 
looks  from  his  window  in  the  stillness  of  midnight,  and 
says  in  his  heart,  "How  quietly  they  rest,  all  the  de- 
parted ! " 

6.  Near  the  church-yard  stands  a  poor-box,  fastened  to 
a  post  by  iron  bands,  and  secured  by  a  padlock,  with  a  slop- 
ing wooden  roof  to  keep  off  the  rain.     If  it  be  Sunday  the 
peasants  sit  on  the  church-steps  and  con  their  psalm-books. 
Others  are  coming  down  the  road  with  their  beloved  pastor, 
who  talks  to  them  of  holy  things  from  beneath  his  broad- 
brimmed  hat.     He  speaks  of  fields  and  harvests,  and  of  the 
parable  of  the  sower   that  went  forth  to  sow.     He  leads 
them  to  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  to  the  pleasant  pastures 
of  the  spirit-land.     He  is  their  patriarch,  and  like  Melchiz- 
edek,  both  priest  and  king,  though  he  has  no  other  throne 
than  the  church-pulpit.     The  women  carry  psalm-books  in 
their  hands,  wrapped  in  silk  handkerchiefs,  and  listen  de- 
voutly to  the  good  man's  words.     But  the  young  men,  like 
Gallio,  care  for  none  of  these  things.     They  are  busy  count- 
ing the  plaits  in  the  kirtles  of  the  peasant-girls,  their  num- 
ber an  indication  of  the  wearer's  wealth. 

7.  Nor  must  I  forget  the  suddenly  changing  seasons  of 
the  northern  clime.     There  is  no  long  and  lingering  spring, 
unfolding  leaf   and    blossom,   one  by  one  ;   no   long   and 
lingering  autumn,  pompous  with  many-colored  leaves  and 
the  glow  of  Indian  summers.     But  winter  and  summer  are 
wonderful,  and  pass  into  each  other.     The  quail  has  hardly 
ceased  piping  in  the  corn,  when  winter  from  the  folds  of 
trailing  clouds  sows  broadcast  over  the  land  snow,  icicles, 
and  rattling  hail.     The  days  wane   apace.-    Ere   long  the 
sun  hardly  rises  above  the  horizon,  or  does  not  rise  at  all. 
The  moon  and  the  stars  shine  through  the  day  ;  only,  at 
noon,  they  are  pale  and  wan,  and  in  the  southern  sky  a 
red,  fiery  glow,  as  of  sunset,  burns  along  the  horizon,  and 

14 


196  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

then  goes  out.  And  pleasantly  under  the  silver  moon,  and 
under  the  silent,  solemn  stars,  ring  the  shoes  of  the  skaters 
on  the  frozen  sea,  and  voices  and  the  sound  of  bells. 

8.  And  now  the  northern  lights  begin  to  burn,  faintly 
at  first,  like  sunbeams  playing  in  the  waters  of  the  blue 
sea.     Then  a  soft  crimson  glow  tinges  the  heavens.     There 
is  a  blush  on  the  cheek  of  night.     The  colors  come  and  go  ; 
and  change  from  crimson  to  gold,  from  gold  to  crimson. 
The  snow  is  stained  with  rosy  light.     Twofold  from  the 
zenith,  east  and  west,  flames  a  fiery  sword  ;  and  a  broad 
band  passes  athwart  the  heavens,  like  a  summer  sunset. 
Soft  purple  clouds  come  sailing  over  the  sea,  and  through 
their  vapory   folds   the  winking   stars  shine  as  white  as 
silver. 

9.  With  such  pomp  as  this  is  merry  Christmas  ushered 
in,  though  only  a  single  star  heralded  the  first  Christmas. 
And  in  memory  of  that  day  the  Swedish  peasants  dance  on 
straw  ;  and  the  peasant-girls  throw  straws  at  the  timbered 
roof  of  the  hall,  and  for  every  one  that  sticks  in  a  crack 
shall  a  groomsman  come  to  their  wedding.     Merry  Christ- 
mas indeed  !     For  pious  souls  there  shall  be  church  songs 
and  sermons,  but,  for  Swedish  peasants,  brandy  and  nut- 
brown  ale   in   wooden   bowls  ;   and  the  great  Yule-cake 
crowned  with  a  cheese,   and  garlanded  with  apples,   and 
upholding  a  three-armed  candlestick  over  the  Christmas 
feast. 

10.  And  now  the  glad,  leafy  midsummer,  full  of  blos- 
soms and  the  song  of  nightingales,  is  come  !     Saint  John 
has  taken  the  flowers  and  festival  of  heathen  Balder ;  and 
in  every  village  there  is  a  May-pole  fifty  feet  high,  with 
wreaths  and  roses  and  ribbons  streaming  in  the  wind,  and 
a  noisy  weather-cock  on  top,  to  tell  the  village  whence  the 
wind  cometh  and  whither  it  goeth.     The  sun  does  not  set 
till  ten  o'clock  at  night ;  and  the  children  are  at  play  in 
the  streets  an  hour  later.     The  windows  and  doors  are  all 


NATIONAL   CHARACTERISTICS.  197 

open,  and  you  may  sit  and  read  till  midnight  without  a 
candle. 

11.  Oh,  how  beautiful  is  the  summer  night,  which  is  not 
yet  night,   but  a  sunless  yet   unclouded  day,   descending 
upon  earth  with  dews,  and  shadows,  and  refreshing  cool- 
ness ! '  How  beautiful  the  long,  mild  twilight,  which  like  a 
silver  clasp  unites  to-day  with  yesterday  !   How  beautiful  the 
silent  hour,  when  morning  and  evening  thus  sit  together, 
hand  in  hand,  beneath  £he  starless  sky  of  midnight ! 

12.  From  the  church-tower  in  the  public  square  the 
bell  tolls  the  hour,  with  a  soft,  musical  chime  ;  and  the 
watchman  whose  watch-tower  is  the  belfry,  blows  a  blast 
in  his  horn,  for  each  stroke  of  the  hammer,  and  four  times, 
to  the  four  corners  of  the  heavens,  in  a  sonorous  voice  he 
chants  : 

"  Ho  !  watchman,  ho  ! 
Twelve  is  the  clock  ! 
God  keep  our  town 
From  fire  and  brand 
And  hostile  hand  ! 
Twelve  is  the  clock  ! " 

From  his  swallow's  nest  in  the  belfry  he  can  see  the  sun 
all  day  long ;  and  farther  north  the  priest  stands  at  his 
door  in  the  warm  midnight,  and  lights  his  pipe  with  a 
common  burning-glass. 

Longfellow. 


ASIRVADAM    THE    BRAHMAN. 

1.  THE  natural  history  of  our  astute  and  accomplished 
friend  is  worth  a  page  or  two.  And  first,  as  to  his  color. 
Asirvadam  comes  from  the  northern  provinces,  and  calls 
the  snow-turbaned  Himalayas  cousin;  consequently,  his 


198  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

complexion  is  the  brightest  among  Brahmans.  By  some 
who  are  uninitiated  in  the  chemical  mysteries  of  our 
metropolitan  milk-trade,  it  has  been  likened  to  chocolate 
and  cream,  with  plenty  of  cream  ;  but  the  comparison  de- 
pends, for  the  idea  it  conveys,  so  much  on  the  taste  of  the 
ethnological  inquirer,  as  to  the  proportion  of  cream,  and 
still  so  much  more,  as  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Weller's  weal-pie?, 
on  the  reputation  of  "the  lady  as  makes  it,"  that  it  will 
hardly  serve  the  requirements  of  a  severe  scientific  state- 
ment. 

2.  Simplicity,  convenience,  decorum,  and  picturesque- 
ness  distinguish  the  costume  of  Asirvadam  the  Brahman. 
Three  yards  of  yard-wide  fine  cotton  cloth  envelop  his  loins 
in  such  a  manner  that,  while  one  end  hangs  in  graceful 
folds  in  front,  the  other  falls  in  a  fine  distraction  behind. 
Over  this,  a  robe  of  muslin,  or  silk,  or  pina  cloth — the  lat- 
ter in  peculiar  favor,  by  reason  of  its  superior  purity,  for 
high-caste  wear — covers  his  neck,  breast,  and  arms,  and  de- 
scends nearly  to  his  ankles.     Asirvadam  borrowed  this  gar- 
ment from  the  Mussulman  ;  but  he  fastens  it  on  the  left 
side,  which  the  follower  of  the  Prophet  never  does,  and 
surmounts  it  with  an  ample  and  elegant  waistband,  besides 
the  broad  Romanesque  mantle  that  he  tosses  over  his  shoul- 
der with  such  a  senatorial  air. 

3.  His  turban,  also,  is  an  innovation — not  proper  to  the 
Brahman,  pure  and  simple,  but,  like  the  robe  adopted  from 
the  Moorish  wardrobe,  for  a  more  imposing  appearance  in 
Sahib  society.     It  is  formed  of  a  very  narrow  strip,  fifteen 
or  twenty  yards  long,  of  fine  stuff,  molded  to  the  orthodox 
shape  and  size  by  wrapping  it,  while  wet,  on  a  wooden 
block  ;  having  been  hardened  in  the  sun,  it  is  worn  like  a 
hat.     As  for  his  feet,  Asirvadam,  uncompromising  in  ex- 
ternals, disdains  to  pollute  them  with  the  touch  of  leather. 
Shameless  fellows,  Brahmans  though  they  be,  of  the  sect 
of  Vishnu,  go  about,  without  a  blush,  in  thonged  sandals, 


NATIONAL   CHARACTERISTICS*  199 

made  of  abominable  skins ;  but  Asirvadam,  strict  as  a 
Gooroo  when  the  eyes  of  his  caste  are  on  him,  is  immacu- 
late in  wooden  clogs. 

4.  In  ornaments,  his  taste,  though  somewhat  grotesque, 
is  by  no  means  lavish.     A  sort  of  stud  or  button,  composed 
of  a  solitary  ruby,  in  the  upper  rim  of  the  cartilage  of  either 
ear — a  chain  of  gold,  curiously  wrought,  and  intertwined 
with  a  string  of  small  pearls,  around  his  neck — a  massive 
bangle  of  plain  gold  on  his  arm — a  richly  jeweled  ring  on 
his  thumb,  and  others,  broad  and  shield-like,  on  his  toes, 
complete  his  outfit  in  these  vanities. 

5.  As  often  as  Asirvadam  honors  us  with  his  morning 
visit  of  business  or  ceremony,  a  slight  yellow  line,  drawn 
horizontally  between  his  eyebrows,  with  a  paste  composed 
of  ground  sandal-wood,  denotes  that  he  has  purified  himself 
externally  and   internally  by   bathing   and   prayers.      To 
omit  this,  even  by  the  most  unavoidable  chance  to  appear 
in  public  without  it,  were  to  incur  a  grave  public  scandal ; 
only  excepting  the  season  of  mourning,  when,  by  an  expres- 
sive Oriental  figure,  the  absence  of  the  caste-mark  is  accept- 
ed for  the  token  of  a  profound  and  absorbing  sorrow,  which 
takes  no  thought  even  for  the  customary  forms  of  decency. 

6.  The  low-caste  slave  who  may  be  admitted  to  the  dis- 
tinguished presence  of  our  friend,  to  implore  indulgence, 
or  to  supplicate  pardon  for  an  offense,  must  thrice  touch* 
the  ground,   or  the  honored  feet,   with  both  his  hands, 
which  he  immediately  lays  upon  his  forehead  ;  and  there 
are  occasions  of  peculiar  humiliation  which  require  the  pro- 
found prostration  of  the  sashtangam,  or  abasement  of  the 
eight  members,  wherein  the  suppliant  extends  himself  face 
downward  on  the  earth,  with  palms  joined  above  his  head. 

7.  If  Asirvadam — having  concluded  a  visit  in  which  he 
has  deferentially  reminded  me  of  the  peculiar  privilege  I 
enjoy  in  being  admitted  to  social  converse  with  so  select  a 
being — is  about  to  withdraw  the  light  of  his  presence,  he 


200  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

retires  backward,  with  many  humbly  gracious  salaams.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  I  have  had  the  honor  to  be  his  distin- 
guished guest  at  his  garden-house,  and  am  in  the  act  of 
taking  my  leave,  he  patronizes  me  to  the  gate  with  elabo- 
rate obsequiousness,  that  would  be  tedious,  if  it  were  not 
so  graceful,  so  comfortable,  so  gallantly  vainglorious.  lie 
shows  the  way  by  following,  and  spares  me  the  indignity  of 
seeing  his  back  by  never  taking  his  eyes  from  mine.  He 
knows  what  is  due  to  his  accomplished  friend  the  Sahib, 
who  is  learned  in  the  four  Yankee  Vedas  ;  as  to  what  is  due 
to  Asirvadam  the  Brahman,  no  man  knoweth  the  beginning 
or  the  end  of  that. 

8.  When  Asirvadam  crosses  my  threshold,  he  leaves  his 
slippers  at  the  door.     I  am  nattered  by  the  act  into  a  self- 
appreciative  complacency,  until  I  discover  that  he  thereby 
simply  puts  me  on  a  level  with  his  cow.     When  he  con- 
verses with  me,  he  keeps  respectful  distance,  and  gracefully 
averts  from  me  the  annoyance  of  his  breath  by  holding  his 
hand  before  his  mouth.     I  inwardly  applaud  his  refined 
breeding,  forgetting  that  I  am  a  pariah  of  pariahs,  whose 
soul,  if  I  have  one,  the  incense  of  his  holy  lungs  might  save 
alive — forgetting  that  he  is  one  to  whose  very  foot-print  the 
Soodra  salaams,  alighting  from  his  palankeen — to  whose 
shadow  poor  Chakili,  the  cobbler,  abandons  the  broad  high- 

vay — the  feared  of  gods,  hated  of  giants,  mistrusted  of 
men,  and  adored  of  himself— Asirvadam  the  Brahman. 

9.  Among  the  cloistral  cells  of  the  women's  quarter, 
which  surround  the  inner  court  of  Asirvadam's  domestic 
establishment,  is  a  dark  and  narrow  chamber  which  is  the 
domain  of  women's   rights.     It   is  called    "the  Room  of 
Anger,"  because,   when  the  wife  of  the  bosom  has  been 
tempted  by  inveighing  box-wallahs  with  a  love  of  a  pink 
coortee,  or  a  pair  of  chased  bangles,  "such  darlings  and  so 
cheap,"  and  has  conceived  a  longing  for  the  same,  her  way 
is,  without  a  word  beforehand,  to  go  shut  herself  up  in  the 


NATIONAL   CHARACTERISTICS.  201 

Room  of  Anger,  and  pout  and  sulk  till  she  gets  them  ;  and 
seeing  that  the  wife  of  the  bosom  is  also  the  pure  concocter 
of  the  Brahmanical  curry  and  server  of  the  Brahmanical 
rice,  that  she  is  the  goddess  of  the  sacred  kitchen,  and  high- 
priestess  of  pots  and  pans,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  her  success 
is  certain.  Poor  little  brown  fool  !  that  twelve,  feet  square 
of  curious  custom  is  all,  of  the  world-wide  realm  of  beauty 
and  caprice,  that  she  can  call  her  own. 

10.  As  Raja,  the  warrior,  sprang  from  the  right  arm  of 
Brahma,  and  Vaishya,  the  cultivator,  from  his  belly,  and 
Soodra,  the  laborer,  from  his  feet ;  so  Asirvadam  the  Brah- 
man was  conceived  in  the  head  and  brought  forth  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Creator ;  and  he  is  above  the  others  by  so 
much  as  the  head  is  above  arms,  belly,  and  feet ;  he  is  wiser 
than  the  others,  inasmuch  as  he  has  lain  among  the  thoughts 
of  the  god,  has  played  with  his  inventions,  and  made  excur- 
sions through  the  universe  of  speech.     Therefore,  if  it  be 
true,  as  some  say,  that  Asirvadam  is  an  ant-hill  of  lies,  he 
is  also  a  snake's-nest  of  wisdom,  and  a  bee-hive  of  ingenuity. 
Let  him  be  respected,  for  his  rights  are  plain. 

11.  It  is  right  to  be  taught  the  Vedas  and  the  mantras, 
all  the  tongues  of  India,  and  the  sciences  ;  to  marry  a  child- 
wife — no  matter  how  old  he  may  be — or  a  score  of  wives,  if 
he  be  a  Kooleen  Brahman,  so  that  he  may  drive  a  lively 
business  in   the  way  of  dowries  ;  to  peruse  the  books  of 
magic,  and  perform  the  awful  sacrifice  of  the  Yajna;  to 
receive  presents  without  limit,  levy  taxes  without  law,  and 
beg  with  insolence. 

12.  Asirvadam  has  a  choice  of  a  hundred  callings,  as 
various  in  dignity  and  profit  as  they  are  numerous.     Under 
native  rule  he  makes  a  good  cooly,  because  the  officers  of 
the  revenue  are  forbidden  to  search  a  Brahman's  baggage,  or 
anything  that  he  carries.     He  is  an  expeditious  messenger, 
for  no  man  may  stop  him  ;  and  he  can  travel  cheaply  for 
whom  there  is  free  entertainment  on  every  road.     Asirva- 


202  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

dam,  in  financial  straits,  may  teach  dancing  to  nautch-girls  ; 
or  he  may  play  the  mountebank  or  the  conjurer,  and  with 
a  stock  of  mantras  and  charms  proceed  to  the  curing  of 
murrain  in  cattle,  pip  in  chickens,  at  the  same  time  telling 
fortunes,  calculating  nativities,  finding  lost  treasure,  advis- 
ing as  to  journeys  and  speculations,  and  crossing  out  crosses 
in  love  for  any  pretty  dear  who  will  cross  the  poor  Brah- 
man's palm  with  a  rupee.  He  may  engage  in  commercial 
pursuits  ;  and,  in  that  case,  his  bulling  and  bearing  at  the 
opium-sales  will  put  Wall  Street  to  the  blush. 

13.  The  field  of  politics  is  full  of  charms  for  him,  the 
church  invites  his  taste  and  talents,  and  the  army  tempts 
him  with  opportunities  for  intrigue  ;  but  whether  in  the 
shape  of  Machiavelisms,  miracles,   or  mutinies,  he  is  for 
ever  making  mischief. 

14.  Whether   as  messenger,  dancing-master,   conjurer, 
fortune-teller,  speculator,   mountebank,  politician,   priest, 
or  Sepoy,  he  is  ever  the  same  Asirvadam  the  Brahman- 
sleekest  of  lackeys,  most  servile  of  sycophants,  expertest  of 
tricksters,  smoothest  of  hypocrites,  coolest  of  liars,  most  in- 
solent of  beggars,  most  versatile  of  adventurers,  most  inven- 
tive of  charlatans,  most  restless  of  schemers,  most  insidious 
of  Jesuits,  most  treacherous  of  confidants,  falsest  of  friends, 
hardest  of  masters,  most  arrogant  of  patrons,  crudest  of  ty- 
rants, most  patient  of  haters,  most  insatiable  of  avengers, 
most  gluttonous  of  ravishers,  most  infernal  of  devils— pleas- 
antest  of  fellows. 

Atlantic  Monthly. 


CHILD-LIFE    BY  THE    GANGES. 

1.  WE  are  told  that  there  are  towns  in  India,  somewhere 
between  Cape  Comorin  and  the  Himalayas,  wherein  every- 
thing is  "  little  "  ;  where  inhabitants  and  inhabited  are  alike 
in  the  estate  of  urchins  ;  where  little  Brahmans  extort  little 


NATIONAL    CHARACTERISTICS.  203 

offerings  from  little  dupes  at  the  foot  of  little  altars,  and 
ring  little  bells,  and  blow  little  horns,  and  pound  little 
gongs,  and  mutter  little  rigmaroles  before  stupid  little 
Krishnas  and  Sivas  and  Vishnus,  doing  their  little  wooden 
best  to  look  solemn,  mounted  on  little  bulls  or  snakes,  un- 
der little  canopies  ;  where  little  Brahmanee  bulls,  in  all  the 
little  insolence  of  their  little  sacred  privileges,  poke  their 
little  noses  into  the  little  rice-baskets  of  pious  little  maid- 
ens in  little  bazaars,  and  help  their  little  selves  to  their  little 
hearts'  content,  without  "begging  your  little  pardons,"  or 
"  by  your  little  leaves  "  ;  where  dirty  little  fakirs  and  yogees 
hold  their  dirty  little  heads  until  their  dirty  little  muscles 
are  shrunk  to  dirty  little  rags,  and  their  dirty  little  finger- 
nails grow  through  the  backs  of  their  dirty  little  hands, 
or  wear  little  tenpenny  nails  thrust  through  their  little 
tongues  till  they  acquire  chronic  impediments  in  their 
decidedly  dirty  little  speech,  or,  by  means  of  little  hooks 
through  the  little  smalls-of-their-backs,  circumgyrate  from 
little  churruck-posts  for  the  edification  of  infatuated  little 
crowds  and  the  honor  of  horrid  little  goddesses  ;  where 
plucky  little  widows  perform  their  little  suttees  for  defunct 
little  husbands,  grilling  on  little  funeral  piles ;  where 
mangy  little  pariah  dogs  defile  the  little  dinners  of  high- 
caste  folks,  by  stealing  hungry  little  sniffs  from  sacred  little 
pots  ;  where  omnivorous  little  adjutant-birds  gobble  up  lit- 
tle glass  bottles  and  bones,  and  little  dead  cats,  and  little 
old  slippers,  and  bits  of  little  bricks,  in  front  of  little  shops 
in  little  bazaars  ;  where  vociferous  little  servants  are  driv- 
ing little  bargains  with  obese  little  merchants,  and  conse- 
quential little  policemen  are  bullying  offensive  little  poor 
people  and  calling  them  pigs  ;  where,  in  fine,  everything  in 
heathen  human  nature  happens  to  children,  and  the  very 
fables  with  which  the  little  story-tellers  entertain  the  little, 
loafers  on  the  corners  of  the  little  streets  are  full  of  little 
giants  and  little  dwarfs. 


204:  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

2.  But,  while  in  fable  this  paradise  for  children  exists, 
in  reality,  many  and  grievous  perils  do  environ  baby-life  by 
the  Ganges — perils  of  nurses,  perils  by  wolves,  perils  by 
crocodiles,  perils  by  cobras,  perils  by  devils. 

3.  Some  fine  afternoon  your  ayah,  or  nurse,  takes  your 
little  Johnny  to  stroll  by  the  river's  bank,  to  watch  the 
green  budgerows  as  they  glide,  pulled  by  singing  boatmen  ; 
to  watch  the  brown  corpses  as  they  float  silently  down  from 
Benares.     At  night  the  ayah  returns  wringing  her  hands. 
Where  is  your  merry  darling  ?     She  knows  not.     0  Klioda- 
bund  !  go  ask  the  evil  spirits.    0  Sahib  !  go  cry  unto  Gunga, 
go  accuse  the  greedy  river,  and  say  to  the  envious  waters, 
"  Give  me  back  my  boy  ! "     She  had  left  him  sitting  on  a 
stone,  she  says,  counting  the  sailing  corpses,  while  she  went 
to  find  him  a  blue-jay's  nest  among  the  rocks  ;  when  she 
returned  to  the  stone, -no  Johnnee  Sahib!     "My  golden 
image,  who  hath  snatched  him  away  ?      He  that  skipped 
and  hummed  like  a  singing-top,  where  is  he  gone  ? "     A 
month  after  that  your  dandees  capture  a  crocodile,  and 
from  his  heathen  maw  recover  a  familiar  coral  necklace 
with  an    inscription   on   the   clasp,    "  To  Johnny  on  his 
birthday."     A  pair  of  little  silver  bangles,  whose  jocund 
jingling  had  once  been  happy  household  music  to  some 
poor  Hindoo  mother,  have  kept  the  necklace  company. 

4.  Over  against  the  gates  of  our  compound  the  Baboo's 
walks  are  bright  with  roses,  and  ixoras,  and  the  creeping 
nagatallis ;  the  Baboo's  park  is  shady  with  banians,  and 
fragrant  with  sandal-trees,  and  imposing  with  tall  peepuls, 
and  cool  with  sparkling  fountains  ;   and   Chinna  Tumbe, 
the  little  brother,  the  brown  apple  of  the  Baboo's  eye,  plays 
among  the  bamboos  by  the  tank,  just  within  the  gate,  and 
pelts  the  gold-fishes  with  mango-seeds.     Presently  comes 
along  a  pleasant  peddler,  all  the  way  from  Cabool,  with  a 
pretty  bushy- tailed  kitten  of  Persia  in  the  hollow  of  his  arm, 
and  a  cunning  little  mongoose  cracking  nuts  on  his  shoulder. 


NATIONAL    CHARACTERISTICS.  205 

5.  A  score  of  tiny  silver  bells  tinkle  from  a  silken  cord 
around  Chinna  Tumbe's  loins,  and  the  silver  whistle  with 
which  he  calls  his  cockatoos  is  suspended  from  his  neck  by 
a  chain  of  gold.     So  the  pleasant  peddler,  all  the  way  from 
Cabool,  greets  Chinna  Tumbe  merrily,  saying:  "See  my 
pretty  kitten,  that  knows  a  hundred  tricks  !   and  see  my 
brave  mongoose,  that  can  kill  cobras  in  fair  fight.    My  Per- 
sian kitten  for  your  silver  bells,  Chinna  Tumbe,  and  my 
cunning  mongoose  for  your  golden  chain  ! " 

6.  And  Chinna  Tumbe  laughs,  and  claps  his  hands,  and 
dances  for  delight,  and  all  the  silver  bells  jingle  merrily. 
And  the  pleasant  peddler,  all  the  way  from  Cabool,  says  : 
"Step  without  the  gate,  little  brother,   if  you  would  see 
my  pretty  kitten  play  tricks  ;  if  you  would  stroke  my  cun- 
ning mongoose,  step  without  the  gate  ;  for  I  dare  not  pass 
within,  lest  my  lord,  the  Baboo  of  many  lacs,   should  be 
angry."     So  Chinna  Tumbe  steps  out  into  the  road,  and 
the  pleasant  peddler,  all  the  way  from  Cabool,  sets  the  Per- 
sian kitten  on  the  ground,  and  rattles  off  some  strange 
words,  that  sound  very  funnily  to  the  little  brother  ;  and 
immediately  the  Persian  kitten  begins  to  run  round  after 
its  bushy  tail,  faster  and  faster,  faster  and  faster,  a  ring  of 
yellow  light. 

7.  And   Chinna   Tumbe   claps    his   hands,    and   cries, 
"  Wah  !  wah  ! "  and  he  dances  for  delight,  and  all  his  silver 
bells  jingle  gleefully.     So  the  pleasant  peddler  addresses 
other  strange  and  funny  words  to  the  ring  of  yellow  light, 
and  instantly  it  stands  still,  and  quivers  its  bushy  tail,  and 
pants.     Then  the  peddler  speaks  to  the  cunning  mongoose, 
which  immediately  leaps  to  the  ground,  and  sitting  quite 
erect,  with  its  broad  tail  curled  over  its  back,  like  a  mara- 
bout feather,  holds  its  paws  togother  in  the  quaint  manner 
of  a  squirrel,  and  looks  attentive. 

8.  More   of  the   peddler's  funny   conjuration   and  up 
springs  the  mongoose  into  the  air,  like  a  Burman's  wicker 


206  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

foot-ball,  and,  alighting  on  the  kitten's  back,  clings  close 
and  fast.  Away  fly  kitten  and  mongoose — away  from  the 
gate — away  from  the  Baboo's  walks,  bright  with  exoras  and 
creeping  nagatallis,  away  from  the  Baboo's  park,  shady  with 
banians,  and  fragrant  with  sandal-trees,  and  imposing  with 
tall  peepuls,  and  cool  with  sparkling  fountains — away  from 
the  Baboo's  home,  away  from  the  Baboo's  heart,  bereft 
thenceforth  for  ever  ! 

9.  'For   Chinna    Tumbe   follows   fast,    crying   "  Wah ! 
wah  ! "  and  clapping  his  hands,  and  jingling  gleefully  all 
his  silver  bells,  follows  across  the  road,  and  through  the 
bamboo  hedge,  and  into  the  darkness  of  the  jungle  ;  and 
the  pleasant  peddler,  all  the  way  from  Cabool,  goes  smiling 
after — but,  as  he  goes,  what  is  it  that  he  draws  from  the 
breast  of  his  dusty  coortee  ?     Only  a  slender,  smooth  cord, 
with  a  slip-knot  at  the  end  of  it. 

10.  Within  the  twelvemonth,  in  a  stony  nullah,  hard  by 
a  clump  of  crooked  saul-trees,  a  mile  from  the  Baboo's  gate, 
some  jackals  brought  to  light  the  bones  of  a  little  child  ; 
and  the  deep  grave  from  which  they  dug  them  with  their 
sharp,  busy  claws   bore   marks  of  the  mystic  pickaxe   of 
Thuggee.     But  there  were  no  tinkling  bells,  no  chain  of 
gold,  no  silver  whistle  ;  and   the  cockatoos  and  the  gold- 
fishes knew  Chinna  Tumbe  no  more. 

Atlantic  Monthly. 


JAPANESE    SCENERY. 

1.  ASCENDING  a  high  hill,  just  beyond  the  town  of 
Kanagawa,  we  enjoyed  our  first  interior  view  of  Japanese 
rural  scenery.  Thenceforward  we  had  a  path  only  five  or 
six  feet  wide,  which  winds  across  the  plains  and  around 
the  hill-sides,  not  on  any  principle  of  road-making,  but 


NA  TIONAL   CHA RA  CTERISTICS. 


207 


simply  for  the  convenient  use  of  the  soil.  The  hill-tops 
are  covered  with  majestic  cypresses  and  yew-trees,  inter- 
mingled with  the  chestnut,  holly,  pine,  persimmon,  and 
camphor.  At  their  bases  are  thick  groves  of  the  slender 
bamboo,  which,  besides  being  highly  ornamental,  is  the  most 
variously  useful  of  all  the  woods  in  the  East. 

2.  The  althea,  the  lily,  the  jVponica,  the  arbor-vitae,  the 
wistaria,  the  passion-flower,  and  many  other  shrubs  and 
creepers,  which  require  so  much  care  and  labor  in  our  gar- 


A  Japanese  Temple,. 

dens  and  greenhouses,  are  luxuriant  here.  There  is  no 
waste,  either  by  rock,  marsh,  or  jungle  ;  every  hill  is  ter- 
raced, every  acre  irrigated,  every  square  foot  of  land  cov- 
ered by  some  tree,  cereal,  or  esculent.  Instead  of  farms, 
there  are  small  plots,  and  each  is  tilled  with  cotton,  flax, 


208  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


barley,  sugar,  beets,  peppers,  sweet-potatoes,  cab- 
bages, turnips,  and  other  vegetables,  by  a  single  family,  with 
care  equal  to  that  which  is  bestowed  on  our  flower-beds. 
No  allowance  is  made  for  even  accidental  waste  of  the  crop. 
The  individual  wheat-stalk  which  is  bent  down  by  the 
storm  is  restored  and  supported.  Each  head  of  rice,  each 
particular  ball  of  cotton,  is*  kept  in  its  place  until  carefully 
removed  by  the  husbandman's  hand.  There  is  no  loss  of 
time  in  gathering  the  crops  into  garners  ;  as  fast  as 
the  product  ripens,  it  is  harvested  and  immediately  pre- 
pared for  the  market.  Despotism,  though  often  cruel,  is 
not  always  blind.  A  law  of  the  empire  obliges  every  one 
who  fells  a  tree  to  plant  another.  In  the  midst  of  this 
rich  and  beautiful  landscape,  within  an  inclosure  of  two 
hundred  acres,  stands  a  Buddhist  temple,  with  an  adjoin- 
ing monastery  surrounded  by  groves  such  as  Downing 
might  have  designed.  We  came  upon  the  base  of  the  tem- 
ple by  successive  flights  of  steps,  each  reaching  from  a 
platform  below  to  a  more  contracted  one  above.  The  edi- 
fices are  constructed  of  wood,  which  is  generally  used  in 
Japan,  for  a  greater  security  against  earthquakes. 

3.  While  we  were  enjoying  our  collation  in  one  apart- 
ment, the  bonzes  were  taking  tea  and  smoking  in  the  next 
one.  Each  bonze,  before  lifting  his  tea-cup  or  bringing  his 
pipe  to  his  lips,  brought  his  head  half  a  dozen  times  to  the 
floor  by  way  of  compliment  to  his  several  companions.  We 
inferred  that  some  of  the  party  were  pilgrims,  enjoying  the 
hospitalities  of  the  house.  The  temple  is  a  square  inclosure, 
with  an  open  corridor  on  every  side.  Nearly  the  whole 
floor  is  covered  with  a  dais,  in  the  center  of  which  is  a 
large  altar,  with  a  smaller  one  on  either  side.  Over  each 
a  carved  image  —  the  middle  one  Buddha  ;  on  his  right,  the 
mythological  mikado,  on  the  left  an  apostle  or  lawgiver. 
No  space  is  allowed  for  worshipers.  They  prostrate  them- 
selves at  the  porch,  and  are  content  with  throwing  small 


NATIONAL    CHARACTERISTICS.  209 

coins  into  the  treasury  just  within  the  door.  A  cemetery 
near  the  temple  is  crowded  with  monuments  of  pilgrim 
princes  and  saints.  Take  away  from  this  temple  its  pagan 
devices  and  emblems,  and  the  whole  place  would  seem  to  be 
pervaded  with  the  very  spirit  of  religious  devotion.  It 
combines  seclusion,  repose,  and  silence,  with  solemnity. 

Seward^s  Travels. 


PART  XIII. 
PECULIAR  CUSTOMS. 


BUDDHIST   TEMPLE    AND   WORSHIP. 

1.  BY  way  of  specimen-life  in  the  Himalayas,  let  us 
look  at  one  of  the  villages  of  the  mountains.     It  shall  be 
that  of  Wallanchoon,  in  the  kingdom  of  Nepaul.    It  stands 
ten  thousand  feet,  and  more,  above  the  level  of  the  sea — 
say,  half  a  mile  above  the  convent  of  St.  Bernard.     The 
few  trees  which  find  rooting  upon  the  steep  mountain-sides 
look  gaunt  and  haggard  ;  long  streamers  of  lichen,  bleached 
by  exposure  to  the  sun  and  wind,  float  from  the  naked 
branches.     The  village  lies  in  a  plain,  sown  over  with  huge 
bowlders,  that  have  from  age  to  age  been  loosened  from  the 
heights  around.     The  houses  creep  up  the  mountain-side. 
They  are  gayly  painted  and  ornamented  with  poles,  from 
which  streamers  float  in  the  sharp  mountain  breeze. 

2.  The  buildings  are  formed  of  pine-planks  set  upright, 
the  interstices  being  filled  with  compost.     The  roofs  are 
low-pitched,  covered  with  shingles,  and  loaded  with  large 
stones,  to  keep  them  from  blowing  away.     A  narrow  slit, 
closed  with  a  shutter,  answers  the  purpose  of  a  window. 

3.  High  above  the  level  of  the  dwellings,  a  long,  low 
convent-building  sits  perched.     Few  things  are  more  notice- 
able than   the  frequency  of  temples  and  monasteries  all 
through  the  mountains.     The  principal  establishment  is  at 


PECULIAR   CUSTOMS.  211 

Tassiding,  upon  a  spur  which  shoots  down  from  the  flanks 
of  Kintchin-Junga.  Here  are  three  temples,  with  corre- 
sponding houses  for  the  lamas.  They  are  singular-looking 
structures,  built  of  huge  stones,  the  walls  sloping  upward 
from  their  base  upon  the  outside,  though  they  are  perpen- 
dicular within.  The  roof  is  low  and  thickly  thatched,  pro- 
jecting eight  or  ten  feet  beyond  the  walls.  A  ladder  upon 
the  outside  gives  access  to  a  small  garret  under  the  roof, 
inhabited  by  the  attendant  monks.  Passing  through  the 
outer  door,  we  enter  a  vestibule  in  which  are  tall  praying- 
machines,  which  are  kept  continually  turning,  and  the 
amount  of  prayer  and  supplication  thus  ground  out  is 
astonishing.  From  this  vestibule  the  main  body  of  the 
temple  is  entered  by  folding-doors,  studded  with  copper 
bosses.  The  walls  are  plastered  over  with  clay,  upon  which 
are  depicted  allegorical  representations  of  Buddha  and  vari- 
ous other  figures. 

4.  It  must  be  borne .  in  mind  that,  properly  speaking, 
the  Buddhists  are  not  idolaters.     The  images  are  not  idols ; 
they  are  objects  of  reverence,  not  of  adoration.     In  theory 
at  least  no  image  is  any  more  than  the  symbol  of  the  being 
in  whose  honor  it  is  erected — a  token  to  remind  the  wor- 
shipers of  the  holy  person  to  whom  alone  the  adoration  is 
given. 

5.  The  sacred  implements  in  these  temples  are  curious 
enough.     First  in  importance  is  the  mani,  or  praying-ma- 
chine.    It  is  a  cylinder  of  leather,  of  any  size  up  to  that  of 
a  large  barrel,  or  even  hogshead,  placed  vertically  upon  an 
axis,  so  that  it  may  revolve  with  facility.     Written  prayers 
are  deposited  within  this  cylinder,  which  is  made  to  revolve 
by  pulling  a  string  attached  to  a  crank.     An  iron  arm  pro- 
jecting from  the  side  of  the  cylinder  strikes  a  small  bell  at 
each  revolution,  and  any  one  who  pulls  the  string  properly 
is  supposed  to  have  repeated  all  the  prayers  contained  in 
the  cylinder  at  every  stroke  of  the  bell.     Some  of  these 

15 


212  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

machines  are  put  in  motion  by  water-power,  and  thus  turn 
out  an  amount  of  supplication  too  great  to  be  easily  esti- 
mated. There  is  another  kind  borne  in  the  hand,  which 
can  be  made  to  revolve  by  a  very  slight  movement  of  the 
owner. 

6.  The  implement  next  in  importance  to  the  mani  is 
the   trumpet,   made   of   a   human   thigh-bone,    perforated 
through    both    condyles.      These    are    often    handsomely 
mounted  and  decorated  with  silver.     There  is  some  pecul- 
iar sanctity  attached  to  the  bone  of  a  lama  which  is  held  to 
give  a  special  efficacy  to  the  trumpets  manufactured  from 
them.    It  can  not  fail  to  be  vastly  consolatory  to  these  holy 
men  to  reflect  that  not  only  are  their  throats  exercised  in 
performing  the  sacred  offices  while  they  are  living,  but  for 
generations  after  they  are  dead  their  bones  will  still  con- 
tinue to  enact  an  important  part  in  divine  worship. 

7.  In  addition  to  the  manis  and  trumpets,  the  principal 
implements  of  worship  found  in  the  Buddhist  temples  are 
the  dooje,  or  double  thunder-bolt — which  the  lamas  use 
much  as  the  Catholic  priests  do  the  cross — bells,  conch- 
shells,  and  brazen  cups.     These  latter  are  perhaps  intended 
to  represent  the  sacred  lotus,  which  bears  so  important  a 
part  in  Buddhist  mythology. 

8.  The  most  singular  religious  structures  are  the  pray- 
ing-mills, which  occur  at  intervals  along  the  courses  of  the 
mountain-torrents.     They  consist  simply  of   a  hut  built 
over  the  stream,  large  enough  to  contain  a  mani.    The  shaft 
descends  through  the  floor,  and,  being  provided  with  floats 
at  the  lower  extremity  dipping  into  the  water,  the  cylin- 
der is  kept  in  constant  motion,  praying  away  night  and 
day  on  its  own  account  for  the  benefit  of  whom  it  may 
concern. 

Joseph  Dalton  Hooker. 


PECULIAR   CUSTOMS,  213 


BAZAARS   OF   CONSTANTINOPLE. 

1.  BEING  all  the  shops  of  New  York,   Philadelphia, 
and  Boston  together  around  the  City  Hall,  remove  their 
fronts,  pile  up  all  their  goods  on  shelves  facing  the  street, 
cover  the  whole  with  a  roof,  and  metamorphose  your  trim 
clerks  into  bearded,  turbaned,  and  solemn  old  Mussulmans, 
smooth  Jews,  and  rosy  Armenians,  and  you  will  have  some- 
thing like  the  grand  bazaar  of  Constantinople.     You  can 
scarcely  get  an  idea  of  it  without  having  been  there.     It  is 
a  city  under  cover.     You  walk  all  day,  and  day  after  day, 
from   one   street   to   another,    winding   and   turning   and 
trudging  up   hill   and  down,   and  never  go  out-of-doors. 
The  roof  is  as  high  as  those  of  our  three-story  houses,  and 
the  dim  light  so  favorable  to  shop-keepers  comes  struggling 
down  through  sky-lights  never  cleaned  except  by  the  rains 
of  heaven. 

2.  Strolling  through  the  bazaar  is  an  endless  amusement. 
It  is  slow  work,  for  the  streets  are  as  crowded  as  a  church- 
aisle  after  service ;  and,  pushed  aside  one  moment  by  a 
bevy  of  Turkish  ladies  shuffling  along  in  their  yellow  slip- 
pers, muffled  to  the  eyes,  the  next  by  a  fat  slave  carrying 
a  child,  again  by  a  kervas  armed  to  the  teeth,  and  clearing 
the  way  for  some  coming  dignitary,  you  find  your  only 
policy  is  to  draw  in  your  elbows,  and   suffer  the  motley 
crowd  to  shove  you  about  at  their  pleasure. 

3.  Each  shop  in  the  world  of  traffic  may  be  two  yards 
wide.     The  owner  sits  cross-legged  on  the  broad  counter 
below,  the  height  of  a  chair  from  the  ground,  and  hands 
you  all  you  want  without  stirring  from  his   seat.     One 
broad  bench  or  counter  runs  the  length  of  the  street,  and 
the  different  shops  are  only  divided  by  the  slight  partition 
of  the  shelves.     The  purchaser  seats  himself  on  the  counter 
to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  crowd,  and  the  shop-man  spreads 


214  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

out  his  goods  on  his  knees,  never  condescending  to  open 
his  lips  except  to  tell  you  the  price. 

4.  Ten  to  one,  while  you  are  examining  his  goods,  the 
bearded  trader   creeps   through   the   hole   leading   to  his 
kennel  of  a  dormitory  in  the  rear,  washes  himself  and  re- 
turns to  his  counter,  where,  spreading  his  sacred  carpet  in 
the  direction  of  Mecca,  he  goes  through  his  prayers,  per- 
fectly unconscious  of  your  presence,  or  that  of  the  passing 
crowd.      No  vocation   interferes   with  his  religious  duty. 
Five  times  a  day,  if  he  were  running  from  the  plague,  the 
Mussulman  would  find  time  for  prayers. 

5.  The  Frank  purchaser  attracts  a  great  deal  of  curi- 
osity.    As  he  points  to  an  embroidered  handkerchief,  or  a 
rich  shawl,   or   a  pair  of   gold- worked   slippers,    Turkish 
ladies  of  the  first  rank  gather  their  yash-macks  securely 
over  their  faces,  stop  close  to  his  side,  not  minding  if  they 
push  him  a  little  to  get  nearer  the  desired  article.     Feeling 
not  the  least  timidity,  except  for  their  faces,  these  true 
children  of  Eve  examine  the  goods  in  barter,  watch  the 
stranger's  countenance,  and,  if  he  takes  off  his  glove,  or 
pulls  out  his  purse,  take  it  up  and  look  at  it,  without  even 
saying,  "  By  your  leave." 

6.  Their  curiosity  often  extends  to  your  dress,  and  they 
put  out  their  little  henna-stained  fingers  and  pass  them 
over  the  sleeve  of  your  coat  with  a  gurgling  expression  of 
admiration  at  its  fineness,  or,  if  you  have  rings  or  a  watch- 
guard,  they  lift  your  hand  or  pull  out  your  watch  with  no 
kind  of  scruple.     I  have  met  with  several  instances  of  this 
in  the  course  of  my  rambles.     But  a  day  or  two  ago  I 
found  myself  rather  more  than  usual  a  subject  of  curiosity. 
I  was  alone  in  the  street  of  embroidered  handkerchiefs, 
and,  wishing  to  look  at  some  of  uncommon  beauty,  I  called 
one  of  the  many  Jews  always  near  a  stranger  to  turn  a  pen- 
ny by  interpreting  for  him,  and  was  soon  up  to  the  elbows 
in  goods  that  would  tempt  a  female  angel  out  of  paradise. 


PECULIAR   CUSTOMS.  215 

7.  As  I  was   selecting  one   for  a  purchase,   a  woman 
plumped   down   upon    the  seat  beside  me,  and  fixed  her 
great,  black,  unwinking  eyes  upon  my  face,  while  an  Abys- 
sinian slave  and  another  white  woman,  both  apparently  her 
dependents,  stood  respectfully  at  her  back.     A  small  tur- 
quoise ring  (the  favorite  color  in  Turkey)   first  attracted 
her  attention.     She  took  up  my  hand,  and  turned  it  over 
in  her  soft,  fat  fingers,  and  dropped  it  again  without  say- 
ing a  word.     I  looked  at  my  interpreter,  but  he  seemed  to 
think  it  nothing  extraordinary,  and  I  went  on  with  my 
bargain.     Presently  my  fine-eyed  friend  pulled  me  by  the 
sleeve,  and  as  I  leaned  toward  her  rubbed  her  forefinger 
very  quickly  over  my  cheek,  looking  at  me  intently  all  the 
while.     I  was  a  little  disturbed  with  the  lady's  familiarity, 
and  asked  my  Jew  what  she  wanted.     I  found  that  my 
rubicund   complexion   was   something  uncommon   among 
these  dark-skinned  Orientals,  and  she  wished  to  satisfy  her- 
self that  I  was  not  painted. 

8.  In  the  center  of  the  bazaar,  occupying  about  as  much 
space  as  the  body  of  the  City  Hall  in  New  York,  is  what 
is  called  the  bezestein.      You  descend  into  it  from  four 
directions  by  massive  gates,  which  are  shut,  and  all  persons 
excluded,  except  between  seven  and  twelve  of  the  forenoon. 
This  is  the  core  of  Constantinople,  the  soul  and  citadel  of 
Orientalism.     It  is  devoted  to  the  sale  of  arms  and  to  costly 
articles  only.     The  roof  is  loftier  and  the  light  more  dim 
than  in  the  outer  bazaars,  and  the  merchants  who  occupy 
its  stalls  are  old  and  of  established  credit. 

9.  Here  are  subjects  for  the  pencil  !     If  you  can  take 
your  eyes  from  those  Damascus  sabers,  with  their  jeweled 
hilts  and  costly  scabbards,  or  from  those  gemmed  daggers 
and  guns  inlaid  with  silver  and  gold,  cast  a  glance  along 
that  dim  avenue,  and  see  what  a  range  there  is  of  glorious 
old  gray-beards,  with  their  snowy  turbans  !     These  are  the 
Turks  of  the  old  regime  before  Sultan  Mahmoud  disfigured 


216  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

himself  with  a  coat  like  a  "dog  of  a  Christian,"  and  broke 
in  upon  the  customs  of  the  Orient.  These  are  your  opium- 
eaters,  who  smoke  even  in  their  sleep,  and  would  not  touch 
wine  if  it  were  handed  them  by  houris  !  These  are  your 
fatalists,  who  would  scarce  take  the  trouble  to  get  out  of 
the  way  of  a  lion,  and  who  are  as  certain  of  the  miracle  of 
Mohammed's  coffin  as  of  the  length  of  the  pipe  or  the 
quality  of  the  tobacco  of  Shiraz  ! 

10.  It  is  curious  to  see  with  what  perfect  indifference 
these  old  cross-legs  attend  to  the  wishes  of  a  Christian.     I 
was  idling  round  one  day  with  an  English  traveler,  whom 
I  had  known  in  Italy,  when  a  Persian  robe  of  singular 
beauty  hanging  on  one  of  the  stalls  arrested  my  companion's 
attention.     He  had  with  him  his  Turkish  dragoman,  and, 
as  the  old  merchant  was  smoking  away  and  looking  right 
at  us,  we  pointed  to  the  dress  over  his  head  and  the  inter- 
preter asked  to  see  it.     The  Mussulman  smoked  calmly  on, 
taking  no  more  notice  of  us  than  of  the  white  clouds  curl- 
ing through  his  beard.     He  might  have  sat  for  Michael 
Angelo's  Moses.     Thin,  pale,   calm,  and  of  a  statue-like 
repose  of  countenance  and  posture,  with  a  large,  old-fash- 
ioned turban,  and  a  curling  beard  half-mingled  with  gray, 
his  neck  bare,  and  his  fine  bust  enveloped  in  the  flowing 
and  bright-colored  drapery  of  the  East,  I  had  never  seen  a 
more  majestic  figure.     He  evidently  did  not  wish  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  us. 

11.  At  last  I  took  out  my  snuff-box,  and  addressing 
him  with  "Effendi  !  "  the  Turkish  title  of  courtesy,  laid 
my  hand  on  my  breast  and  offered  him  a  pinch.     Tobacco 
in  this  unaccustomed  shape  is  a  luxury  here,  and  the  amber 
mouth-piece  emerged  from  his  mustache,  and,  putting  his 
three  fingers  into  my  box,  he  said,  "  Pek  khe  ! "  the  Turk- 
ish ejaculation  of  approval.     He  then  made  room  for  us 
on  his  carpet,  and  with  a  cloth  measure  took  the  robe  from 
its  nail  and  spread  it  before  us.     My  friend  bought  it  un- 


PECULIAR   CUSTOMS.  217 

hesitatingly  for  a  dressing-gown,  and  we  spent  an  hour 
in  looking  at  shawls,  of  prices  perfectly  startling,  arms, 
chalices  for  incense,  spotless  amber  for  pipes,  pearls,  brace- 
lets of  the  time  of  Sultan  Selim,  and  an  endless  variety  of 
"  things  rich  and  rare."  The  closing  of  the  bezestein  gates 
interrupted  our  agreeable  employment,  and  our  old  friend 
gave  us  the  parting  salaam  very  cordially  for  a  Turk.  I 
have  been  there  frequently  since,  and  never  pass  without 
offering  my  snuff-box  and  taking  a  whiff  or  two  from  his 
pipe,  which  I  can  not  refuse,  though  it  is  not  out  of  his 
mouth,  except  when  offered  to  a  friend,  from  sunrise  till 

midnight. 

N.  P.   Willis, 


REINDEER-TRAVELING. 

1.  AFTER  lunch  we  prepared  ourselves  to  take  our  first 
lessons  in  driving  the  reindeer.  I  put  on  a  poesk  of  rein- 
deer-skin and  my  fur-lined  Russian  boots.  Ludwig  took 
a  pulk,  also,  to  assist  us  in  case  of  need.  These  pulks  are 
shaped  very  much  like  a  canoe  ;  they  are  about  five  feet 
long,  one  foot  deep,  and  eighteen  inches  wide,  with  a  sharp 
bow  and  a  square  stern.  You  sit  upright  against  the  stern- 
board,  with  your  legs  stretched  out  in  the  bottom.  The 
deer's  harness  consists  only  of  a  collar  of  reindeer-skin 
around  the  neck,  with  a  rope  at  the  bottom  which  passes 
under  the  belly  between  the  legs,  and  is  fastened  to  the 
bow  of  the  pulk.  He  is  driven  by  a  single  rein,  attached 
to  the  base  of  the  left  horn,  and  passing  over  the  back  to 
the  right  hand  of  the  driver,  who  thrusts  his  thumb  into  a 
loop  at  the  end,  and  takes  several  turns  around  his  wrist. 
The  rein  is  held  rather  slack,  in  order  that  it  may  be 
thrown  over  to  the  right  side 'when  it  slips  to  the  left, 
which  it  is  very  apt  to  do. 


218  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

2.  I  seated  myself,  took  proper  hold  of  the  rein,  and 
awaited  the  signal  to  start.     My  deer  was  a  strong,  swift 
animal,  who  had  just  shed  his  horns.     Ludwig  set  off  first ; 
my  deer  gave  a  startling  leap,  dashed  around  the  corner  of 
the  house,  and  made  down-hill.     I  tried  to  catch  the  breath 
which  had  been  jerked  out  of  me,  and  to  keep  my  balance, 
as  the  pulk,  swaying  from  side  to  side,  bounced  over  the 
snow.     It  was  too  late  ;  a  swift  presentiment  of  the  catas- 
trophe flashed  across  my  mind,  but  I  was  powerless  to  avert 
it.     In  another  second  I  found  myself  rolling  in  the  loose 
snow,  with  the  pulk  bottom  upward  beside  me.     The  deer, 
who  was  attached  to  my  arm,  was  standing  still,  facing  me, 
with  an  expression  of  stupid  surprise  on  his  face. 

3.  I  got  up,  shook  myself,  righted  the  pulk,  and  com- 
menced again.     Oif  we  went,  like  the  wind,  down  the  hill, 
the  snow  flying  in  my  face  and  blinding  me.     My  pulk 
made  tremendous  leaps,  bounding  from  side  to  side,  until, 
the  whirlwind  suddenly  subsiding,  I  found  myself  off  the 
road,  deep  overhead  in  the  snow,  choked  and  blinded,  and 
with  small  snow-drifts  in  my  pockets,  sleeves,  and  bosom. 
My  beard  and   eyebrows  became   instantly  a  white,  solid 
mass,  and  my  face  began  to  tingle  from  its  snow-bath  ; 
but,  on  looking  back,  I  saw  as  white  a  beard  suddenly 
emerge  from  a  drift,  followed  by  the  stout  body  of  Braisted, 
who  was  gathering  himself  up  after  his  third  shipwreck. 

4.  We  took  a  fresh  start.     I  narrowly  escaped  another 
overturn,  as  we  descended  the  slope  below  the  house,  but, 
on  reaching  the  level  of  the  Muonio,  I  found  no  difficulty 
in  keeping  my  balance,  and  began  to  enjoy  the  exercise. 
My  deer  struck  out,  passed  the  others,  and  soon  I  was  alone 
on  the  track.     In  the  gray  Arctic  twilight,  gliding  noise- 
lessly and  swiftly  over  the  snow,  with  the  low  huts  of  Muo- 
nioniska  dimly  seen  in  the  distance  before  me,  I  had  my 
true  experience  of  Lapland  traveling. 

5.  It  was  delightfully  novel  and  exhilarating  ;  I  urged 


PECULIAR   CUSTOMS.  219 

my  deer  with  shouts,  and  never  once  looked  behind  me 
until  I  had  climbed  the  opposite  shore  and  reached  the 
village.  My  companions  were  then  nowhere  to  be  seen. 
I  waited  some  time  before  they  arrived,  Braisted's  deer 
having  become  fractious,  and  run  back  with  him  to  the 
house.  His  crimson  face  shone  out  from  its  white  frame 
of  icy  hair,  as  he  shouted  to  me,  "  There  is  nothing  equal 
fco  this  except  riding  behind  a  whale  when  he  drives  to 
windward,  with  every  man  trimming  the  boat,  and  the 
spray  flying  over  your  bows  !  " 

6.  On  leaving  the  house,  we  had  to  descend  -the  steep 
bank  of  the  river.  I  put  out  my  feet  to  steady  the  pulk, 
and  thereby  plowed  a  cataract  of  fine  snow  into  my  face, 
completely  blinding  me.  The  pulk  gave  a  flying  leap  from 
the  steepest  pitch,  flung  me  out,  and  the  deer,  eager  to 
make  for  home,  dragged  me  by  the  arm  for  about  twenty 
yards  before  I  could  arrest  him.  This  was  the  worst  upset 
of  all,  and  far  from  pleasant,  although  the  temperature  was 
only  zero.  I  reached  home  again  without  further  mishap, 
flushed,  excited,  soaked  with  melted  snow,  and  confident 
of  my  ability  to  drive  reindeer  with  a  little  more  practice. 

Bayard  Taylor. 


PART  XIV. 
ISLANDS  AND  ISLANDERS. 


THE    FAROE    ISLANDS. 

1.  THE  Faroe  Islands  lie  about  midway  between  Scot- 
land and   Iceland,  and  belong  to   Denmark.     The  whole 
group  consists  of  thirty-five  small  islands,  some  of  which 
are  little  more  than  naked  rocks  jutting  up  out  of  the  sea. 
About  twenty  are  inhabited.     The  rest  are  too  barren  and 
precipitous  to  afford  a  suitable  place  of  abode  even  for  the 
hardy  Faroese.     The  entire  population  is  estimated  at  some- 
thing over  six  thousand,  of  which  the  greater  part  are  shep- 
herds, fishermen,  and  bird-catchers.     Owing  to  the  situation 
of  these  islands,  surrounded  by  the  open  sea  and  within 
the  influence  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  the  climate  is  very  mild, 
although  they  lie  in  the  sixty-second  degree  of  north  lati- 
tude.    The  winters  are  never  severe,  and  frost  and  snow 
rarely  last  over  two  months.     They  are  subject,  however, 
at  that  season  to  frequent  and  terrible  gales  from  the  north, 
and  during  the  summer  are  often  inaccessible  for  days  and 
even  weeks,  owing  to  dense  fogs. 

2.  The  humidity  of  the  climate  is  favorable  to  the  growth 
of  grass,  which  covers  the  hills  with  a  brilliant  coating  of 
green  wherever  there  is  the  least  approach  to   soil  ;  and 
where  there  is  no  soil,  as  in  many  places  along  the  shores, 
the  rocks  are  beautifully  draped  with  moss  and  lichens, 


ISLANDS  AND  ISLANDERS.  221 

The  highest  point  in  the  group  is  2,800  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea,  and  the  general  aspect  of  them  all  is  wild  and 
rugged  in  the  extreme.  Prodigious  cliffs,  a  thousand  feet 
high,  stand  like  a  wall  out  of  the  sea  on  the  southern  side 
of  the  Stromoe.  The  Mygenaes-holm,  a  solitary  rock, 
guards,  like  a  sentinel,  one  of  the  passages,  and  forms  a  ter- 
rific precipice  of  1,500  feet  on  one  side,  against  which  the 
waves  break  with  an  everlasting  roar.  Here  the  solan- 
goose,  the  eider-duck,  and  innumerable  varieties  of  gulls 
and  sea-fowl,  build  their  nests  and  breed. 

3.  At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  the  intrepid  bird-hunt- 
ers suspend  themselves  from  the  cliffs  by  means  of  ropes, 
and  "  feather  their  own  nests  "  by  robbing  the  nests  of  their 
neighbors.     Enormous  quantities  of  eggs  are  taken  in  this 
way.     The  eider-down  of  which  the  nests  of  the  eider-duck 
are  composed  is  one  of  the  most  profitable  articles  of  Fa- 
roese  traffic.     The  mode  of  life  to  which  these  men  devote 
themselves,  and  their  habitual  contact  with  danger,  render 
them  reckless,  and  many  perish  every  year  by  falling  from 
the  rocks.     Widows  and  orphans  are  numerous  throughout 
the  islands. 

4.  The  few  scattering  farms  to  be  seen  on  the  slopes  of 
the  hills  and  in  the  arable  valleys  are  conducted  on  the 
most  primitive  principles.     A  small  patch  of  potatoes  and 
vegetables,  and  in  certain  exposures  a  few  acres  of  grain, 
comprise  the  extent  of  their  agricultural  operations.    Sheep- 
raising  is  the  most  profitable  of  their  pursuits.     The  cli- 
mate appears  to  be  more  congenial  to  the  growth  of  wool 
than  of  cereal  productions.     The  Faroese  sheep  are  noted 
for  the  fineness  and  luxuriance  of  their  fleece,  and  it  always 
commands  a  high  price  in  market. 

5.  A  considerable  portion  of  it  is  manufactured  by  the 
inhabitants,  who  are  quite  skillful  in  weaving  and  knitting. 
They  make  a  kind  of  thick  woolen  shirt — something  like 
that  known  as  the  Guernsey — which  for  durability  and 


222  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

warmth  is  unsurpassed.  Sailors  and  fishermen  all  over  the 
northern  seas  consider  themselves  fortunate  if  they  can  get 
possession  of  a  Faroese  shirt.  The  costume  of  the  men, 
which  is  chiefly  home-made,  consists  of  a  rough,  thick 
jacket  of  brown  wool  ;  a  coarse  woolen  shirt ;  a  knitted 
bag-shaped  cap  on  the  head  ;  a  pair  of  knee-breeches  of  the 
same  material  as  the  coat ;  a  pair  of  thick  woolen  stockings, 
and  sheep-skin  shoes — generally  covered  with  mud — all  of 
the  same  brown  or  rather  burnt-umber  color.  Exposure 
to  the  weather  gives  their  skins — naturally  of  a  leathery 
texture — something  of  the  same  dull  and  dingy  aspect,  so 
that  a  genuine  Faroese  enjoys  one  advantage — he  can  never 
look  much  more  dirty  at  one  time  than  another. 

6.  The  women  wear  dresses  of  the  same  material,  with- 
out much  attempt  at  shape  or  ornament.  A  colored  hand- 
kerchief tied  round  the  head,  a  silver  breast-pin,  and  a  pair 
of  ear-rings  of  domestic  manufacture,  comprise  their  only 
personal  decorations.  As  in  all  countries  where  the  burden 
of  heavy  labor  is  thrown  upon  the  women,  they  lose  their 
comely  shapes  at  an  early  age,  and  become  withered,  ill- 
shaped,  and  hard-featured  long  before  they  reach  the  prime 
of  life.  The  Faroese  women  doubtless  make  excellent  wives 
for  lazy  men  ;  they  do  all  the  labors  of  the  house,  and  share 
largely  in  those  of  the  field. 

J.  Ross  Browne, 


REYKJAVIK,  THE    CAPITAL   OF    ICELAND. 

1.  To  a  tourist  of  ardent  imagination  or  to  an  artist, 
the  first  view  of  the  capital  of  Iceland  may  appear  peculiar 
if  not  picturesque,  but  to  me  it  was  only  the  fag-end  of 
civilization,  abounding  in  horrible  odors  of  decayed  polypi 
and  dried  fish.  A  cutting  wind  from  the  distant  Jokulls, 


ISLANDS  AND  ISLANDERS.  223 

and  a  searching  rain,  did  not  tend  to  soften  the  natural 
asperities  of  its  features.  In  no  point  of  view  did  it  im- 
press me  as  a  cheerful  place  of  residence  except  for  wild 
ducks  and  sea-gulls.  The  whole  country  for  miles  aground 
is  a  black  desert  of  bogs  and  lava.  Scarcely  an  arable  spot 
is  to  be  seen  save  on  the  tops  of  the  fishermen's  huts,  where 
the  sod  produces  an  abundance  of  grass  and  weeds. 

2.  A  dark  gravelly  slope  in  front  of  the  town,  dotted 
with  boats,  oars,  nets,  and  piles   of  fish  ;  a  long  row  of 
shambling  old  store-houses  built  of  wood,  and  painted  a 
dismal  black,  varied  by  patches  of  dirty  yellow  ;  a  general 
hodge-podge  of  frame  shanties  behind,  constructed  of  old 
boards,  and  patched  up  with  drift-wood ;  a  few  straggling 
streets,  paved  with  broken  lava  and  reeking  with  offal  from 
the  doors  of  the  houses  ;  some  dozens  of  idle  citizens  and 
drunken  boatmen  lounging  about  the  grog-shops ;  a  gang 
of  women,  brawny  and  weather-beaten,  carrying  loads  of 
codfish  down  to   the  landing ;    a   drove  of   shaggy   little 
ponies,  each  tied  to  the  tail  of  the  pony  in  front ;  a  pack 
of  mangy  dogs  prowling  about  in  dirty  places  looking  for 
something  to  eat,  and  fighting  when  they  got  it — this  was 
all  I  could  see  of  Reykiavik,  the  famous  Icelandic  capital. 

3.  The  town  lies  on  a  strip  of  land  between  the  harbor 
and  a  lagoon  in  the  rear.     It  is  said  to  contain  a  population 
of  two  thousand,  and,  if  the  dogs  and  fleas  be  taken  into 
consideration,  I  have  no  doubt  it  does.     Where  two  thou- 
sand human  beings  can  stow  themselves  in  a  place  contain- 
ing but  one  hotel,  and  that  a  very  poor  one,  is  a  matter  of 
wonder  to  the  stranger.     The  houses  generally  are  but  one 
story  high,  and  seldom  contain  more  than  two  or  three 
rooms.     Some  half  a  dozen  stores,  it  is  true,  of  better  ap- 
pearance than  the  average,  have  been  built  by  the  Danish 
merchants  within  the  past  few  years  ;  and  the  residence  of 
the  Governor  and   the  public  university  are  not  without 
some  pretensions  to  style. 


224  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

4.  At  each  end  of  the  town  is  a  small  gathering  of  sod- 
covered  huts,  where  the  fishermen  and  their  families  live 
like  rabbits  in  a  burrow.     That  these  poor  people  are  not 
all  devoured  by  snails  or  crippled  with  rheumatism  is  a 
marvel  to  any  stranger  who  takes  a  peep  into  their  filthy 
and  cheerless  little  cabins.     The  oozy  slime  of  fish  and 
smoke  mingles  with  the  green  mold  of  the  rocks  ;  barnacles 
cover  the  walls,  and  puddles  make  a  soft  carpeting  for  the 
floors.     The  earth  is  overhead,  and  their  heads  are  under 
the  earth,  and  the  light  of  day  has  no  light  job  of  it  to  get 
in  edgewise  through  the  windows.     The  beaver-huts  and 
badger-holes  of  California,   taking  into  consideration  the 
difference  of  climate,  are  palatial  residences  compared  with 
the  dismal  hovels  of  these  Icelandic  fishermen.     At  a  short 
distance  they  look  for  all  the  world  like  mounds  in  a  grave- 
yard.    The  inhabitants,  worse  off  than  the  dead,  are  buried 
alive. 

5.  No  gardens,   no  cultivated  patches,  no  attempt  at 
anything  ornamental,  relieves  the  dreary  monotony  of  the 
premises.     Dark  patches  of  lava,  all  littered  with  the  heads 
and  entrails  of  fish  ;  a  pile  of  turf  from  some  neighboring 
bog  ;  a  rickety  shed  in  which  the  fish  are  hung  up  to  dry  ; 
a  gang  of  wolfish-looking  curs,  horribly  lean  and  voracious  ; 
a  few  prowling  cats,  and  possibly  a  chicken  deeply  depressed 
in  spirits — these  are  the  most  prominent  objects  visible  in 
the  vicinity.     Sloth  and  filth  go  hand  in  hand. 

6.  The  women  are  really  the  only  class  of  inhabitants, 
except  the  fleas,  who  possess  any  vitality.     Rude,  slatternly, 
and  ignorant  as  they  are,  they  still  evince  some  sign  of  life 
and  energy  compared  with  the  men.     Overtaxed  by  domes- 
tic cares,  they  go  down  upon  the  wharves  when  a  vessel 
comes  in,  and  by  hard  labor  earn  enough  to  purchase  a  few 
rags  of  clothing  for  their  children.     The  men  are  too  lazy 
even  to  carry  the  fish  out  of  their  boats.     At  home  they 
lie  about  the  doors,  smoking  and  gossiping,  and  too  often 


ISLANDS  AND  ISLANDERS.  225 

drunk.  Some  are  too  lazy  to  get  drunk,  and  go  to  sleep 
over  the  effort.  In  truth,  the  prevailing  indolence  among 
all  classes  is  so  striking  that  one  can  almost  imagine  him- 
self in  a  southern  clime. 

7.  I  should  be  very  sorry  to  be  understood  as  intimating, 
in  my  brief  sketch  of  Reykiavik,  that  it  is  destitute  of 
refined  society.  There  are  families  of  as  cultivated  manners 
here  as  in  any  other  part  of  the  world  ;  and,  on  the  occasion 
of  a  ball  or  party,  a  stranger  would  be  surprised  at  the  dis- 
play of  beauty  and  style.  The  university  and  public  libra- 
ry attract  students  from  all  parts  of  the  island,  and  several 
of  the  professors  and  literary  men  have  obtained  a  Euro- 
pean reputation.  Two  semi-monthly  newspapers  are  pub- 
lished at  Reykiavik,  in  the  Icelandic  language.  They  are 
well  printed,  and  said  to  be  edited  with  ability.  I  looked 
over  them  carefully  from  beginning  to  end,  and  could  see 
nothing  to  object  to  in  any  portion  of  the  contents. 

J.  Ross  Browne. 


PART  XV. 
PECULIAR  REGIONS  AND  PEOPLE 


THE  GAUCHOS. 

1.  WHAT  is  a  gaucho  */ 

2.  That  is  precisely  what  I  am  going  to  tell  you. 

3.  Take  my  hand,  if  you  please.     Shod  with  the  shoes 
of  swiftness,  we  have  annihilated  space  and  time.     We  are 
standing  in  the  center  of  a  boundless  plain.     Look  north 
and  south  and  east  and  west :  for  five  hundred  miles  be- 
yond the  limit  of  your  vision  the  scarcely  undulating  level 
stretches  on  either  hand.     Miles,   leagues  away  from  us, 
the  green  of  the  torrid  grass  is  melting  into  a  misty  dun  ; 
still  farther  miles,  and  the  misty  dun  has  faded  to  a  shad- 
owy blue  ;  more  miles,  it  rounds  at  last  away  into  the  sky. 
A  hundred  miles  behind  us  lies  the  nearest  village  ;  two 
hundred  in  another  direction  will  bring  you  to  the  nearest 
town.     The  swiftest  horse  may  gallop  for  a  day  and  night 
unswervingly,  and  still  not  reach  a  dwelling-place  of  man. 
We  are  placed  in   the  midst  of  a  vast,  unpeopled  circle, 
whose  radii  measure  a  thousand  miles. 

4.  But  see  !  a  cloud  arises  in  the  south.     Swiftly  it  rolls 
toward  us  ;  behind  it  there  are  tumult  and  alarm.     The 
ground  trembles  at  its  approach  ;  the  air  is  shaken  by  the 
bellowing  that  it  covers.     Quick  !  let  us  stand  aside  ! — for, 
as  the  haze  is  lifted,  we  can  ^e  the  hurrying  forms  of  a 


PECULIAR  REGIONS  AND  PEOPLE.  227 

thousand  cattle,  speeding  with  lowered  horns  and  fiery  eyes 
across  the  plain.  Fortunately,  they  do  not  observe  our 
presence  ;  were  it  otherwise,  we  should  be  trampled  or 
gored  to  death  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Onward  they 
rush  ;  at  last,  the  hindmost  animals  have  passed  ;  and  see, 
behind  them  all  there  scours  a  man. 

5.  He  glances  at  us,  as  he  rushes  by,  and  determines  to 
give  us  a  specimen  of  his  only  art.     Shaking  his  long,  wild 
locks,  as  he  rises  in  the  stirrup  and  presses  his  horse  to  the 
maddest  gallop,  he  snatches  from  his  saddle-bow  the  loop 
of  a  coil  of  rope,  whirls  it  in  his  right  hand  for  an  instant, 
then  hurls  it  through  the  air,  a  distance  of  fifty  paces.     A 
jerk  and  a  strain — a  bellow  and  a  convulsive  leap — his  lasso 
is  fast  around  the  horns  of  a  bull  in  the  galloping  herd. 
The  horseman  flashes  a  murderous  knife  from  his  belt, 
winds  himself  up   to   the   plunging  beast,   severs  at  one 
swoop  the  tendon  of  its  hind-leg,  and  buries  the  point  of 
his  weapon  in  the  victim's  spinal  marrow.     It  falls  dead. 
The  man,  my  friend,  is  a  gaucho  ;  and  we  are  standing  on 
the  Pampas  of  the  Argentine  Republic. 

6.  Ho  is  a  strange  individual,  this  gaucho  Juan.     Born 
in  a  hut  built  of  mud  and  maize-stalks,  somewhere  on  the 
superficies  of  these  limitless  plains,  he  differs  little,  in  the 
first  two  years  of  his  existence,  from  peasant  babies  all  the 
world  over ;  but,  so  soon  as  he  can  walk,  he  becomes  an 
equestrian.      By  the  time  he  is  four  years  old  there   is 
scarcely  a  colt  in  all  the  Argentine  that  he  will  not  fear- 
lessly mount ;  at  six  he  whirls  a  miniature  lasso  around  the 
horns  of  every  goat  or  ram  he  meets. 

7.  In  those  important  years  when  our  American  youth 
are  shyly  beginning  to  claim  the  title  of  young  men,  and 
are  spending  anxious  hours  in  contemplation  of  the  slowly 
coming  down  upon  their  lip,  young  Juan,  who  never  saw  a 
dozen  printed  books,  and  perhaps  has  only  heard  of  look- 
ing-glasses, is  galloping,  like  a  portion  of  the  beast  he  rides, 

16 


228  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

over  a  thousand  miles  of  prairie,  lassoing  cattle,  ostriches, 
and  guanacos,  fighting  single-handed  with  the  jaguar,  or 
lying  stiff  and  stark  behind  the  heels  of  some  plunging 
colt  that  he  has  too  carelessly  bestridden. 

8.  The  vanqueano  is  a  grave  and  reserved  gaucho,  who 
knows  by  heart  the  peculiarities  of  twenty  thousand  miles  of 
mountain,  wood,  and  plain !     He  is  the  only  map  that  an 
Argentinian  general  takes  with  him  in  a  campaign,  and 
the  vanqueano  is  never  absent  from  his  side. 

9.  Stand  with  him  at  midnight  on  the  Pampas— let  the 
track  be  lost — no  moon  or  stars  ;  the  vanqueano  quietly 
dismounts,  examines  the  foliage  of  the  trees,  if  any  are 
near,  and,  if  there  are  none,  plucks  from  the  ground  a  hand- 
ful of  roots,  chews  them,  smells  and  tastes  the  soil,  and 
tells  you  that  so  many  hours'  travel  due  north  or  south 
will  bring  you  to  your  destination.     Do  not  doubt  him  ; 
he  is  infallible. 

10.  The  official  trailer  is  of  another  stamp.     Like  his 
kinsman,  the  vanqueano,  he  is  a  personage  well  convinced 
of  his  own  importance — grave,   reserved,   taciturn,  whose 
word  is  law.      Such  a   one  was  the  father  Calebar,   the 
dreaded  thief-taker  of  the  Pampas,  the  Vidocq  of  Buenos 
Ayres.     This  man  during  more  than  forty  years  exercised 
his  profession  in  the  republic,  and  a  few  years  since  was 
living,  at  an  advanced  age,  not  far  from  Buenos  Ayres. 
There  appeared  to  be  concentrated  in  him  the  acuteness 
and  keen  perceptions  of  all  the  brethren  of  his  craft ;  it  was 
impossible  to  deceive  him  :  no  one,  whose  trail  he  had  once 
beheld,  could  hope  to  escape  discovery. 

11.  An  adventurous  vagabond  once  entered  his  house, 
during  his   temporary  absence   on   a  journey  to   Buenos 
Ayres,  and  purloined  his  best  saddle.     When  the  robbery 
was   discovered,   his  wife   covered   the   robber's  trail  with 
a  kneading-trough.     Two  months  later  Calebar  returned, 
and  was  shown  the  almost  obliterated  foot-print.     Months 


PECULIAR  REGIONS  AND  PEOPLE.  229 

rolled  by  ;  the  saddle  was  apparently  forgotten  ;  but  a  yeai 
and  a  half  later,  as  the  rastreador  was  again  at  Buenos  Ay  res, 
a  foot-print  in  the  street  attracted  his  notice.  He  followed 
the  trail,  passed  from  street  to  street,  from  plaza  to  plaza, 
and,  finally  entering  a  house  in  the  suburbs,  laid  his  hand 
upon  the  begrimed  and  worn-out  saddle  which  had  once 
been  his  own. 

Atlantic  Monthly. 


THE    LLANOS   AND    LLANEROS. 

1.  LET  us  transport  ourselves   in   imagination   to  the 
Llanos  or  plains  of  Venezuela.     It  is  a  region  similar  in 
some  respects,  widely  dissimilar  in  others,  to  the  more  cele- 
brated Pampas  of  the  regions  to  the  south.     The  wonderful 
plain,  covering  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  square 
miles,  and  forming  the  basin  of  the  gigantic  Orinoco,  is  a 
study  itself.     The  stranger  who  descends  upon  the  vast 
savanna  from  the  mountains  that  line  and  defend  the  coast 
is  impressed  with  the  momentary  belief,  when  his  eye  for 
the  first  time  sweeps  over  the  level  immensity,  that  he  is 
again  approaching  the  sea.     From  the  hilly  country  from 
which  he  has  toiled,  he  beholds  at  his  feet  a  limitless  and 
dusky  plain,  smooth  as  an  ocean  in  repose,  but  undulating 
like  it  in  gigantic  sweeps  and  curves. 

2.  The  Llanos  that  he  sees  spread  out  before  him  thus 
are  one  huge  and  exuberant  pasture.     Like  the  Pampas  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  they  are  the  support  of  myriads  of  roaming 
cattle,  but  unlike  them  they  are  intersected  by  numerous 
rivers,  and  suffer  rather  from  excess  than  lack  of  moisture. 
The  Orinoco  sweeps,  in  turbid  magnificence,  from  west  to 
east,  traversing  their  entire  breadth  ;  and  its  countless  trib- 
utaries seam  in  every  direction  the  immense  plain  thus 
divided,  and  frequently  by  their  unmanageable  floods  turn 
it  for  thousands  of  miles  into  a  lake. 


230  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

3.  The  dwellers  in  this  region  have  a  character  no  less 
distinctive  than  that  of  the  plains  themselves.     At  long  in- 
tervals, sometimes  scores  of  miles  apart,  their  habitations 
are  established  ;  but  their  home  is  the  saddle.     Innumer- 
able herds  of  cattle  and  of  horses  turn  to  account  the  past- 
urage  of  the   rich  savanna ;    and  the   true  llanero  exists 
only  as  guardian  or  proprietor  of  these  savage  hosts. 

4.  He  is  as  much  at  home  in  this  trackless  expanse  of 
rank  vegetation  as  the  mariner  navigating  a  familiar  sea. 
There  are  no  roads  in  the  llanos  ;  but  he  can  gallop  uner- 
ringly to  any  given  point,  be  it  hundreds  of  miles  away. 
There  are  no  boundaries  to  the  huge  estates  ;  bat  he  knows 
when  the  cattle  he  is  set  to  protect  are  grazing  upon  their 
own  territory  or  upon  that  of  a  neighbor.     He  leads  a  life 
in  which  the  extremes  of  solitariness  and  activity  are  com- 
bined.    Separated  from  his  nearest  neighbor  by  a  journey 
of  half  a  day,  visited  only  rarely  at  his  liato  or  farm-house 
by  some  casual  traveler,  or  by  the  itinerant  Galician  peddler, 
the  silent  horseman  lives  wrapped  up  in  ignorance  of  all 
but  the  care  of  the  roving  beasts  that  are  intrusted  to  his 
vigilance. 

5.  Let  us  glance  somewhat  more  nearly  at  the  llanero  in 
his  home.     If  we  are  able  to  obtain  an  elevated  view  of  the 
savanna — let  us  say  in  the  llanos  which  constitute  the  prov- 
ince of  Barinas,  and  through   which  the  Apure  rolls  its 
rapid  current  to  swell  the  volume  of  the  Orinoco — we  shall 
observe,  at  distant  intervals  upon  the  plain,  irregular  groups 
of  palm-trees   surmounting  the  wavy  level   of   the  grass. 
These  isolated  clumps  or  groves,  called  matas  in  the  pro- 
vincial idiom,  prove  the  landmarks  of  the  Venezuelan  plains  ; 
and  in  the  neighborhood  of  each  we  shall  find  the  hato  or 
dwelling  of  a  llanero. 

6.  The  building  we  shall  find  in  every  case  is  a  roughly 
constructed  hut  consisting  of  a  floor  raised  a  couple  of  feet 
above  the  spongy  soil,  and  covered  with  a  steep  roof  of 


PECULIAR  REGIONS  AND  PEOPLE.  231 

palm-branches,  with  perhaps  a  thatch  composed  of  the 
leaves  of  the  same  invaluable  tree.  A  rough  partition  of 
mud-plastered  twigs  divides  the  llanero's  dwelling  into  un- 
equal apartments ;  the  lesser  being  reserved  for  the  use  of 
the  females  of  the  household,  while  the  larger,  furnished 
with  half  a  dozen  hides,  the  skin  of  a  jaguar,  and  a  couple 
of  benches  or  stools  ingeniously  manufactured  from  bamboo, 
is  the  general  reception-room,  sleeping-apartment,  and  work- 
shop for  the  hatero  when  the  floods  are  out,  or  when  he 
takes  a  fancy  at  other  times  to  shelter  his  head  beneath  a 
roof. 

7.  The  hatero,  although  a  descendant,  and  proud  that 
he  is  so,  of  the  Spanish  settlers,  has  much  intermixture  of 
Indian   and   negro   blood.     Few   of  the   llaneros,  indeed, 
could  show  a  pedigree  in  which  the  Castilian  blood  was  not 
sorely  attenuated  and  diluted  with  that  of  half  a  dozen  In- 
dian or  negro  progenitors.     He  is  born  on  the  llanos,  as 
were  his  ancestors  for  many  generations ;  and  he  has  no 
conception  of  land  in  which  cattle-plains  are  unknown,  and 
where  the  carcass  of  an  animal  is  of  more  value  than  the 
hide.     His  ideas  are  restricted  to  his  occupation,  and  his 
religious    notions    limited   to   the   traditional   instruction 
handed  down  from  the   days  when  his  forefathers   lived 
amid  civilized  men,  or  to  the  casual  teaching  of  some  fer- 
vent missionary  who  devotes  himself  to  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  these  lonely  dwellers  on  the  plains. 

8.  The  women  are  as  much  accustomed  to  solitude  as 
the  men,  and  spend  their  time  in  domestic  occupations,  or 
in  cultivating  the  little  patch  of  ground  upon  which  their 
supply  of  rnaize  and  cassava  grows.     Men  and  women  alike 
are  a  simple,  healthy,  ignorant  race,  borrowing  manners, 
dress,  and  dialect  rather  from  the  Indian  than  the  Spanish 
stock. 

9.  Around  his  hato,  perhaps,  there  are  between  one  and 
two  hundred  thousand  head  of  cattle  and  horses,  guarded 


232  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

here  and  there  by  isolated  posts  of  a  nature  similar  to  his 
own.  The  animals,  savage  from  their  birth,  roam  the  plain 
in  droves  of  many  hundreds,  each  herd  commanded  by  two 
or  three  bulls  or  stallions  no  less  despotic  than  that  of  a 
colonel  of  a  Russian  regiment.  They  sweep  from  feeding- 
ground  to  feeding-ground,  galloping  eight  or  ten  abreast, 
headed  by  scouts,  and  suffering  no  human  being  or  strange 
animal  to  cross  their  path.  As  the  dusky  squadron  hurries, 
like  an  incarnate  whirlwind,  from  one  point  to  another, 
every  one  prudently  withdraws  from  their  irresistible  ad- 
vance ;  and  instances  have  occurred  in  which  large  bodies 
of  troops,  marching  across  the  plains,  have  been  scattered 
and  routed  by  an  accidental  charge  of  some  such  wild-eyed 
regiments. 

10.  At  certain  intervals  the  branding  takes  place,  when 
drove  after   drove  are  dexterously  compelled  within   the 
walls  of  the  corral,  and  there  marked  with  the  initials  or 
cipher  of  the  proprietor.     This  is  the  great  festival  of  the 
hatero,   and  he   invites  to  it   all  his  neighbors  for  scores 
of  leagues   around.      The  bellowing  cattle,  the  plunging 
steeds,  the  excitement  of  lassoing  some  bull  more  refrac- 
tory than   usual,   the   hissing  of  the  iron  as  it  sears  the 
brand-mark  deep  into  the  animal's  hide,  all  these  are  ele- 
ments of  exquisite  enjoyment  to  the  unsophisticated  Rarey 
of  the  plains. 

11.  A  llanero  cares  little  for  death.     He  faces  it  daily 
in  his  lonely  converse  with  thousands  of  intractable  beasts  ; 
in  his  bath  in  the  river  swarming  with  alligators  ;  in  the 
swamp  teeming  with  serpents,  against  whose  poison  there 
is  no  antidote,  and  whose  bite  will  destroy  the  life  of  a  man 
in  a  single  hour.     Content  with  the  wild  excitement  of  his 
daily  round  of  duty  and  recreation,  with  his  meal  of  dried 
beef  and  cassava-cake,  washed   down  it  is  likely  with  a 
gourdful  of  guarapo,  a  species  of  rum  in  comparison  with 
which  the  New  England  beverage  is  innocent  and  weak, 


PECULIAR  REGIONS  AND  PEOPLE.  233 

and  with  the  occasional  recurrence  of  some  such  turbulent 
festival  as  that  of  branding,  he  cares  nothing  for  the  future, 
and  bestows  no  thought  upon  the  past.  The  llanero  may 
be  called  a  happy  man. 

Atlantic  Monthly. 


ABORIGINES   OF   AUSTRALIA. 

1.  IK  one  thing  the  first  settlers  of  Australia  were  fort- 
unate. 

2.  The  aborigines  were  few  ;   they  cultivated  no  soil, 
built  no  huts,  possessed  no  ornaments  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  knew  not  the  use  of  metals.     Their  dwellings  consisted 
merely  of  a  few  bits  of  thick  bark  peeled  from  the  trees 
and  set  upright,  as  a  protection  from  the  wind ;  a  fire  was 
built  in  front  of  the  open  side,  and  their  habitation  was 
complete.     Such  a  dwelling  was  called  a  gunyah. 

3.  Their  weapons  were  the  club,  the  spear — they  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  acquainted  with  the  bow — and  the  boom- 
erang.    This  last  weapon  is  peculiar  to  the  aborigines  of 
Australia,  and  its  mode  of  action  is  a  puzzle  to  mathemati- 
cians.    It  is  simply  a  crooked  piece  of  hard  wood,  three 
feet  long  and  three  inches  broad,  pointed  at  each  end,  the 
concave  side  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  the  convex  side 
made  sharp.     The  native  takes  it  by  one  end  and  flings  it 
sickle-wise  with  his  hand,  when,  of  course,  it  revolves  as 
though  upon  an  axis.     If  he  wishes  to  strike  an  object  at  a 
distance,  he  flings  it  toward  the  ground  as  a  boy  does  a  flat 
stone  upon  the  water  to  make  it  "  skip."    And  just  so  the 
boomerang  goes  skipping  to  its  mark. 

4.  If  he  wishes  to  throw  it  so  that  it  shall  fall  at  his 
own  feet,  he  flings  it  at  a  particular  angle  up  into  the  air  ; 
away  goes  the  boomerang  whizzing  and  whirling  in  ascend- 
ing curves,  until  all  at  once  it  turns  short  round,  and  flies 


234  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

back  directly  to  its  master.  And  so,  by  altering  the  angle 
at  which  it  is  thrown,  the  weapon  strikes  at  any  point  be- 
hind him.  In  like  manner,  the  boomerang  may  be  thrown 
around  an  intervening  object,  actualizing  in  a  fashion  the 
joke  of  a  crooked  gun  to  shoot  around  a  corner.  The 
weapon  is  quite  useless  in  the  hands  of  a  European,  being 
quite  as  likely  to  strike  the  thrower  as  the  object  aimed  at ; 
but  in  the  hands  of  a  native  it  is  a  formidable  missile,  strik- 
ing from  the  most  unsuspected  direction  in  spite  of  any 
defense.  You  sit  unconcernedly  behind  a  rock  or  tree, 
thinking  yourself  safe  from  an  attack  in  the  rear  ;  but  the 
boomerang  doubles  the  corner,  and  is  upon  you.  That 
innocent-looking  native  walking  off  with  his  back  to  you 
may  be  at  the  instant  taking  aim  at  you  with  the  inevita- 
ble back-flying  boomerang.  It  doubtless  originated  from 
the  necessity,  in  hunting  the  kangaroo,  that  the  shy 
animal  should  not  see  his  assailant ;  but  it  is  singular 
that  so  barbarous  a  people  should  have  invented  such  a 
weapon. 

5.  The  aborigines  of  Australia  possess  a  physical  appear- 
ance different  from  any  other  race,  or  rather  compounded 
of  many.     To  the  black  color  of  the  African  they  add  the 
straight,  silky  hair  of  the  Malay  and  the  lean,  long  limbs  of 
the  Hindoo  ;  while  their  language  bears  a  remarkable  affin- 
ity to  that  of  the  North  American  Indians.     They  seem  to 
be  entirely  destitute  of  any  form  of  government  or  chieftain- 
ship, and  to  be  merely  an  aggregation  of  separate  families. 

6.  Though  possessing  no  fixed  habitations,  their  migra- 
tions were  confined  within  narrow  limits,  no  family  appar- 
ently exceeding  fifty  or  sixty  miles  in  wanderings.     Their 
numbers  were  small,  never  probably  amounting  to  more 
than  a  hundred  thousand  souls.     This  paucity  arose  less 
from  wars  among  themselves  than  from  the  incapacity  of 
the  country  for  their  support.     Nothing  can  come  amiss 
to  their  omnivorous  appetites ;  worms  and  slugs  were  as 


PECULIAR  REGIONS  AND  PEOPLE.  235 

little  distasteful  to  them  as  oysters  and  shrimps  to  us,  and 
the  larvse  of  insects  constituted  a  dainty  dish. 

7.  So  feeble  a  race  of  course  melted  away  before  the 
rough  convicts  and  settlers,  who  shot  them  down  with  as 
little  scruple  as  so  many  kangaroos,  and  they  are  now 
almost  extinct. 

Alfred  H.  Guernsey. 


MONACO. 

1.  WHERE  the  hill-sides  that  skirt  the  shore   of  the 
Mediterranean   near    the   boundary   border  -  line    between 
France  and  Italy  lies  the  little  country  of  Monaco,  which 
has  had  an  independent  existence  of  nearly   a   thousand 
years.     Among  principalities  Monaco  is  what  Tom  Thumb 
is  among  men.     It  is  curious  because  of  its  smallness  ;  it 
deserves  a  visit,  however,  because  of  its  beauty.     A  few 
houses,  perched  on  the  top  of  a  lofty  rock  jutting  into  the 
sea,   constitute   at  once    the  principality  and  its  capital. 
The  population  is  rated  as  high  as  fourteen  hundred  and 
as  low  as  six  hundred  people. 

2.  The  army   used   to  number   fifty   men  ;  it   is   now 
understood  to  number  eight  privates,  and  as  many  or  more 
officers.     There  is  a  great  difficulty  in  getting  correct  in- 
formation on  this  head,  but  it  would  not  materially  affect 
the  balance  of  power  in  Europe  did  the  army  of  Monaco 
consist  of  double  the  highest  number  of  men  I  have  stated. 
The  artillery  is  disproportionately  in  excess  of  the  other 
branches  of  the  service.     For  every  man  there  is  at  least 
one  cannon  ;  unfortunately,   however,   all  the  cannon  are 
dismounted,  and  the  whole  force  of  the  army  would  barely 
suffice  to  get  one  into  position.     Of  rusty  cannon-balls  and 
empty  shells  there  are  several  piles  in  the  principal  square. 

3.  No  one  who  walks  through  the  streets  or  round  the 


236 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


ramparts  of  this  little  town  can  think  long  of  war  and  ita 
horrors.  Nature  is  here  too  lovely  to  permit  the  mind 
doing  other  service  than  to  admire.  Several  hundred  feel 
down  the  Mediterranean  ripples  against  the  rock,  and  so 


Monaco. 

clear  is  the  water  that  it  resembles  a  liquid  glass  revealing 
rather  than  hiding  the  bed  it  covers. 

4.  As  regards  climate,  Monaco  is  more  favored  than 
Nice.  At  the  latter,  orange-trees  grow  ;  at  the  former, 
lemon-trees  nourish  and  bear  good  fruit.  The  lemon-  is 
more  delicate  than  the  orange-tree,  but  it  is  less  beautiful. 
A  grove  of  lemon-  is  to  a  grove  of  orange-trees  what  a  group 
of  pale-faced  children,  born  and  nursed  in  a  city,  is  to  a 
group  of  rosy-cheeked  and  robust  country  children.  There 
is  not  a  sufficient  contrast  between  the  light  hue  of  the 


PECULIAR  REGIONS  AND  PEOPLE.  237 

fruit  and  the  green  tints  of  the  lemon-leaves  ;  moreover, 
the  leaves  of  the  lemon  are  deprived  of  that  exquisite  tinge 
of  yellow  and  green  which  is  so  lovely  when  lit  up  by  a 
strong  light. 

5.  Sheltered    from    biting   winds,    gay    with    flowers, 
placed  on  an  eminence  which  commands  an  extensive  pros- 
pect, it  might  be  supposed  that  Monaco  was  a  fairy-land. 
But  it  is  a  place  which  it  is  pleasanter  to  read  about  than 
to  inhabit.     Like  those  Oriental  lands  which  would  be  ter- 
restrial paradises  were  it  not  for  the   ravening   monsters 
which  fill  the  waters,   the  poisonous  serpents  which  cover 
the  ground,  the  seeds  of  dire  maladies  which  float  in  the 
air,  Monaco  has  a  drawback  quite  as  serious  as  the  cold  and 
rain  which  render  an  English  winter  almost  unendurable. 

6.  The  curse  of  Monaco  is  moisture.     Were  it  not  for 
the  humidity  of  its  atmosphere,   the  flowers   and   plants 
would  neither  germinate  nor  wear  a  summer  garb  in  the 
month  of  January.     As  it  is,  there  is  as  much  dew  depos- 
ited by  night  as  if  a  shower  of  rain  had  fallen.    Small  pools 
of  water  may  be  seen  in  the  hollows  of  stones.     The  soil  is 
moistened  to  the  depth  of  an  inch  or  two.     In  the  morning 
the  spot  on  which  the  sun  had  shone  is  easily  known  by  the 
difference  between  its  color  and  that  of  the  portion  still  in 
the  shade.     While,   then,  nothing  can  be  pleasanter  than 
the  soft  air  at  midday,   the  damp  air  at  nightfall  is  of 
all  things  the  most  unpleasant  and  prejudicial  to  health. 
That  such  a  climate  should  be  other  than  insalubrious  I 

can  not  believe. 

W.  F.  Rae. 


ANNAM    AND    ITS    PEOPLE. 

1.  BETWEEN  India  and  the  Chinese  Empire  lies  the 
peninsula  of  Indo-China,  jutting  far  out  into  the  Indian 
Ocean.  The  southeastern  portion  of  the  peninsula  is  oc- 


238  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

cupied  by  the  Empire  of  Annam,  of  which  the  chief  mari- 
time province  is  known  to  Europeans  as  Cochin  China. 
The  lower  portion  of  this  country  is  a  nearly  level  plain, 
watered  by  large  rivers,  and  deeply  indented  by  tidal 
streams.  The  rainy  season  lasts  from  April  to  December, 
during  which  the  inhabitants  live  in  a  vapor  bath.  The 
climate  is  certainly  not  a  healthy  one  for  Europeans. 

2.  The  people  of  Annam  are  evidently  of  Mongol  ex- 
traction.    Their  complexion  is  of  a  dark  sallow  hue,  vary- 
ing from  a  dirty  white  to  a  yellowish  olive-color.     In  stat- 
ure they  are  short,  but  thick-set  and  remarkably  active. 
Their  features  are  by  no  means  beautiful  according  to  the 
European  idea  of  beauty.     They  have  short  square  noses, 
prominent  cheek-bones,   thin  lips,  and  small  black  eyes, 
the  eyeballs  being  rather  yellow  than  white.     Their  teeth, 
which  are  naturally  of  a  pure  white,  are  stained  by  the 
excessive  use  of  the  betel-nut.      Their  countenances  are 
chiefly  marked  by  the  breadth  and  height  of  their  cheek- 
bones, and  are  nearly  of  the  shape  of  a  lozenge.     The  wo- 
men are  better  looking  and  decidedly  more  graceful  than 
the  men,  even  in  the  lower  classes,  but  both  sexes  are  par- 
ticularly cheerful  and  vivacious.     The  upper  classes,  how- 
ever, affect  the  solemn  air  and  grave  deportment  of  the 
Chinese,  and  are  consequently  much  less  agreeable  to  stran- 
gers than  are  the  less  dignified  orders. 

3.  -Corpulence  is  considered  a  great  beauty— a  fat  face 
and  a  protuberant  stomach  constituting  the  ideal  of  an 
Adonis.     Both  men  and  women  wear  their  hair  long,  but 
gathered  up  at  the  back  of  the  head  in  a  knot.     It  is  never 
cut  save  in  early  youth,  when  it  is  all  shaved  off  with  the 
exception  of  a  small  tuft  on  the  top  of  the  crown.     A  close- 
cropped  head  of  hair,  indeed,  is  looked  upon  as  a  badge  of 
infancy,  and  is  one  of  the  distinguishing  marks  of  a  con- 
victed criminal.     The  beard  is  allowed  to  grow  naturally . 
but  consists  of  little  more  than  a  few  scattered  hairs  at  the 


PECULIAR  REGIONS  AND  PEOPLE.  239 

end  of  the  chin.  The  nails  should  be  very  long,  thin,  and 
sharp-pointed,  and  by  the  women  are  usually  stained  of  a 
red  color. 

4.  The  Annamites  dress  themselves  in  silk  or  cotton, 
according  to  their  means  ;  but,  whatever  the  material,  the 
form  of  their  garb  is  always  the  same.     In  addition  to  wide 
trousers  fastened  round  the  waist  by  a  silken  girdle,  they 
wear  a  robe  descending  to  the  knees,  and  occasionally  a 
shorter  one  over  that ;  both  equally  opening  on  the  right 
side,  but  closed  by  five  or  six  buttons.     The  men's  sleeves 
are  very  wide,  and  so  long  that  they  descend  considerably 
lower  than  the  ends  of  the  fingers.     The  women,  however, 
who,  in  other  respects,  dress  precisely  as  do  the  men,  have 
their  sleeves  somewhat  shorter,  in  order  to  display  their 
metal  or  pearl  bracelets. 

5.  Out  of  doors  men  and  women  alike  wear  varnished 
straw  hats,  upward  of  two  feet  in  diameter,  fastened  under 
the  chin,  and  very  useful  as  a  protection  against  sun  and 
rain,  though  somewhat  grotesque  in  appearance.     Within 
doors  the  women  go  bareheaded,  not  unfrequently  allowing 
their  fine  black   tresses   to  hang  loose  down  their  backs 
almost  to  the  ground.     Ear-rings,  bracelets,  and  rings  on 
their  fingers  are  favorite  objects  of  female  vanity  ;  but  a 
modest  demeanor  is  a   thing   unknown,   a  bold,  dashing 
manner  being  most  admired  by  the  men.     They  are  cer- 
tainly not  good-looking  ;  but  their  natural  liveliness  amply 
compensates  for  the  absence  of  personal  charms. 

6.  Old  men  and  persons  of  distinction  alone  wear  san- 
dals ;  the  people  generally  prefer  to  go  barefooted.     A  pair 
of  silken  purses,  or  bags,  to  carry  betel  money  and  tobacco, 
may  be  seen  in  the  hand,  or  hanging  over  the  shoulder  of 
every  man  and  woman  not  actually  employed  in  hard  labor. 
They  are,  for  the  most  part,  of  blue  satin,  and  sometimes 
richly  embroidered.     Like   their   neighbors,  the  Chinese, 
the  Annamites  are  scrupulous  observers  of  the  distinctive 


240  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

insignia  of  rank,  but  pay  no  regard  to  personal  cleanliness 
Notwithstanding  their  frequent  ablutions,  their  clothes, 
their  hair,  their  fingers  and  nails,  are  disgustingly  dirty. 
Even  wealthy  persons  wear  dirty  cotton  dresses  within 
doors,  over  which  they  throw  their  smart  silken  robes  when 
they  go  out. 

7.  Taste  is  proverbially  a  matter  beyond  dispute  ;  but 
it  would  be  very  hard  for  any  European  to  agree  with  an 
Annamite  as  to  what  constituted  a  delicacy,  and  what  an 
abomination.     A  Cochin  Chinese  epicure  delights,  for  in- 
stance, in  rotten  eggs,  and  is  especially  fond  of  them  after 
they  have  been  under  a  hen  for  ten  or  twelve  days.     From 
stale  fish,  again,  he  extracts  his  choicest  sauce,  and  feasts 
greedily  upon  meat  in  a  state  of  putrefaction.    Vermin  of  all 
sorts  is  highly  appreciated.     Crocodile's  flesh  is  also  greatly 
prized  ;  though  boiled  rice  and  a  little  fish,  fresh-smoked 
or  salted,  are  the  ordinary  food  of  the  poor.     Among  deli- 
cacies may  be  mentioned  silk-worms  fried  in  fat,  ants  and 
ants'  eggs,  bees,  insects,  swallows'  nests,  and  a  large  white 
worm  found  in  decayed  wood.     Among  the  rich  the  dishes 
are  placed  on  low  tables  a  foot  or  two  in  height,  round 
which  the  diners  seat  themselves  on  the  ground  in  the  atti- 
tude of  tailors.     Forks  and  spoons  are  equally  unknown, 
but  chopsticks  are  used  after  the  Chinese  fashion.     The 
dinner  usually  begins,  instead  of  ending,  with  fruit  and 
pastry.      During  the  meal   nothing  liquid   is  taken,   but 
before  sitting  down  it  is  customary  to  take  a  gulp  or  two 
of  strong  spirits  distilled  from  fermented  rice,  and  after 
dinner  several  small  cups  of  tea  are  drunk  by  those  who 
can  afford  to  do  so.     Cold  or  unadulterated  water  is  thought 
unwholesome,    and   is,    therefore,    never   taken   by   itself. 
Betel-nut  mixed  with  quicklime  is  constantly  chewed  by 
both  men  and  women,  and  of  late  years  the  use  of  opium 
has  partially  crept  in. 

8.  The  houses  of  the  Annamites  are  only  one  story  high, 


PECULIAR  REGFONS  AND  PEOPLE.  241 

and  very  low  in  the  roof.  They  are,  in  fact,  mere  halls, 
the  roof  of  which  is  usually  supported  on  bamboo  pillars, 
on  which  are  pasted  strips  of  many-colored  paper  inscribed 
with  Chinese  proverbs.  The  roof  slopes  rather  sharply,  and 
consists  of  reed  or  straw.  Neither  windows  nor  chimneys 
are  seen.  The  smoke  escapes  and  the  light  enters  by  the 
door.  The  walls  are  made  of  palm-leaves,  though  rich  peo- 
ple often  employ  wood  for  that  purpose.  In  either  case 
they  are  filthily  dirty,  and  swarm  with  insects.  At  the 
farther  end  of  the  house  is  a  raised  platform,  which  serves 
as  a  bed  for  the  entire  family.  The  floor  is  of  earth,  not 
unfrequently  traversed  by  channels  hollowed  out  by  the 
rain  which  descends  through  the  roof. 

9.  It  is  usual  for  the  men  to  marry  as  soon  as  they  have 
means  to  purchase  a  wife.     The  price  of  such  an  article 
varies,  according  to  circumstances,  from  two  to  ten  shil- 
lings, though  rich  people  will  give  twice  or  three  times  that 
sum  for  anything  out  of  the  common  run.     Wives  are  not 
locked  up  as  in  Mohammedan  countries,  but  with  that  ex- 
ception they  are  quite  as  badly  treated,  being  altogether  at 
the  mercy  of  their  husbands.     They  are,  in  truth,  little 
better  than  slaves  or  beasts  of  burden.     It  is  they  who 
build  the  houses,  who  cultivate  the  land,  who  manufacture 
the  clothes,  who  prepare  the  food,  who,  in  short,  do  every- 
thing. 

10.  They  have  nine  lives,  say  their  ungrateful  husbands, 
and  can  afford  to  lose  one  without  being  the  worse  for  it. 
The  men,  though  by  no  means  destitute  of  strength  and 
courage,  are  lazy,  indolent,  and  averse  to  bodily  exercise, 
and  are  chiefly  engaged  at  home  in  the  petty  intrigues  of 
an  almost  real  commerce. 

Temple  Bar. 


242  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

THE    AINOS. 

1.  THE  chief  object  of  interest  to  the  traveler  is  the 
remnant  of  the  Aino  race,  the  aborigines  of  Yezo,  and  not 
improbably  of  the  whole  of  Japan,  peaceable  savages,  who 
live  on  the  coasts  and  in  the  interior  by  fishing  and  hunt- 
ing, and  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  their  Japanese  subju- 
gators as  the  red  Indians  to  the  Americans.     In  truth,  it 
must  be  added  that  they  receive  better  treatment  from 
their  masters  than  is  accorded  to  subject  races  generally. 

2.  They  are  a  wholly  distinct  race  from  the  Japanese. 
In  complexion  they  resemble  the  people  of  Spain  and  South- 
ern Italy,  and  the  expression  of  the  face  and  manner  of 
showing  courtesy  are  European  rather  than  Asiatic. 

3.  The  Ainos  are  truthful,  and,  on  the  whole,  chaste, 
hospitable,  honest,  reverent,  and  kind  to  the  aged.     Drink- 
ing, their  great  vice,  is  not,  as  among  us,  in  antagonism  to 
their  religion,  but  is  actually  a  part  of  it,  and,  as  such, 
would  be  exceptionally  hard  to  eradicate.    » 

4.  All  but  two  or  three  I  have  seen  are  the  most  feroci- 
ous looking  of  savages,  with  a  physique  vigorous  enough  for 
carrying  out  the  most  ferocious  intentions  ;  but,  as  soon  as 
they  speak,  the  countenance  brightens  into  a  smile  as  gentle 
as  that  of  a  woman — something  that  can  never  be  forgotten. 

5.  The  men  are  about  middle  height,   broad-chestedj 
broad-shouldered,  "thick  set,*' very  strongly  built,  the  arms 
and  legs  short,  thick,  and  muscular.     The  bodies,  and  espe- 
cially the  limbs,  are  covered  with  short  bristly  hair. 

6.  The  heads  and  faces  are  very  striking.     The  fore- 
heads are  high,  broad,  and  prominent,  and,  at  first  sight, 
give  one  the  impression  of  an  unusual  capacity  for  intel- 
lectual development ;  the  ears  are  small  and  set  low  ;  the 
noses  are  straight,  but  short  and  broad  at  the  nostrils  ;  the 
mouths  are  wide  but  well  formed  ;  and  the  lips  rarely  show 
a  tendency  to  fullness.     The  neck  is  short,  the  cranium 


PECULIAR  REGIONS  AND  PEOPLE.  243 

rounded,  the  cheek  bones  low,  and  the  lower  part  of  the 
face  is  small  as  compared  with  the  upper,  the  peculiarity 
called  a  "jowl"  being  unknown.  The  eyebrows  are  full 
and  form  a  straight  line  nearly  across  the  face.  The  eyes 
are  large,  tolerably  deeply  set,  and  very  beautiful,  the  color 
a  rich  liquid  brown,  the  expression  singularly  soft,  and  the 
eyelashes  long,  silky,  and  abundant.  The  skin  has  the 
Italian  olive  tint,  but  in  most  cases  is  thin  and  light  enough 
to  show  the  changes  of  color  in  the  cheek.  The  teeth  are 
small,  regular,  and  very  white. 

7.  The  "ferocious  savagery"  of  the  appearance  of  the 
men  is  produced  by  a  profusion  of  thick,  soft,  black  hair, 
divided  in  the  middle  and  falling  in  heavy  masses  nearly 
to  the  shoulders.     Out  of  doors  it  is  kept  from  falling  over 
the  face  by  a  fillet  around  the  brow.    The  beards  are  equally 
profuse,  quite  magnificent,  and  generally  wavy,  and,  in  the 
case  of  the  old  men,  they  give  a  truly  patriarchal  and  vener- 
able aspect,  in  spite  of  the  yellow  tinge  produced  by  smoke 
and  want  of  cleanliness.     The  savage  look  produced  by  the 
masses  of  hair  and  beard  and  the  thick  eyebrows  is  mitigated 
by  the  softness  in  the  dreamy  brown  eyes,  and  is  altogether 
obliterated  by  the   exceeding  sweetness  of  the  smile  which 
belongs  in  greater  or  less  degree  to  all  the  rougher  sex. 

8.  Passing  travelers  who  have  seen  a  few  of  the  Aino 
women  on  the  road  to  Satsupora  speak  of  them  as  very 
ugly,  but  as  making  amends  for  their  ugliness  by  their  in- 
dustry and  conjugal  fidelity.     Of  the   latter  there   is  no 
doubt,  but  I  am  not  disposed  to  admit  the  former.     The 
ugliness  is  certainly  due  to  art  and  dirt.     The  Aino  women 
seldom  exceed  five  feet  and  half  an  inch  in  height,  but  they 
are  beautifully  formed,  straight,  lithe,  and  well  developed, 
with  small  feet  and  hands,  well-arched  insteps,   rounded 
limbs,  and  a  firm,  elastic  gait.     Their  heads  and  faces  are 
small,  but  the  hair,  which  falls  in  masses  on  each  side  of 
the  face,  like  that  of  the  men,  is  equally  abundant.     They 

1 


244  GEOGHAPSICAL  READER. 

have  superb  teeth,  and  display  them  liberally  in  smiling. 
Their  mouths  are  somewhat  wide,  but  well  formed,  and  they 
have  a  ruddy  comeliness  about  them,  which  is  pleasing  in 
spite  of  the  disfigurement  of  the  band  which  is  tattooed 
both  above  and  below  the  mouth. 

9.  A  girl  at  Sherovi,  who  for  some  reason  has  not  been 
subjected  to  this  process  of  tattooing,  is  the  most  beautiful 
creature  in  feature,  coloring,  and  natural  grace,  that  I  have 
seen  for  a  long  time.     Their  complexions  are  lighter  than 
those  of  the  men.     There  are  not  many  here  even  as  dark 
as  our  European  brunettes. 

10.  The  children  are  very  pretty  and  attractive,  and 
their  faces  give  promise  of  an  intelligence  which  is  lacking 
in  those  of  the  adults.     They  are  much  loved,  and  are  ca- 
ressing as  well  as  caressed.     Implicit  and  prompt  obedience 
is  required  from  infancy ;  and  from  a  very  early  age  the 
children  are  utilized  by  being  made  to  fetch  and  carry  and 
go  on  messages.     I  have  seen  children  apparently  not  more 
than  two  years  old  sent  for  wood ;  and  even  at  this  age 
they  are  so  thoroughly  trained  in  the  observances  of  eti- 
quette, that  babies  just  able  to  walk  never  toddle  into  or 
out  of  a  house  without  formal  salutation  to  each  person 
within  it,  the  mother  alone  excepted. 

11.  Their  manners  toward  their  parents  are  very  affec- 
tionate.    Even  to-day,  in  the  chiefs  awe-inspiring  pres- 
ence, one  dear  little  nude  creature,  who  had  been  sitting 
quietly  for  two  hours  staring  into  the  fire  with  her  big 
brown  eyes,  rushed  to  meet  her  mother  when  she  entered, 
and  threw  her  arms  around  her,  to  which  the  woman  re- 
sponded by  a  look  of  true  maternal  tenderness  and  a  kiss. 
These  little  creatures  in  their  absolute   unconsciousness, 
with  their  beautiful  faces,  olive-tinted  bodies — all  the  dark- 
er, sad  to  say,  from  dirt — their  perfect  docility,  and  absence 
of  prying  curiosity,  are  very  bewitching. 

Isabella  L.  Bird. 


PART   XVI. 
CITIES. 


PEKING. 

1.  PEKING  is  an  ancient  city,  the  origin  of  which  is 
unknown.     Its  name  is  derived  from  Pei,  north,  and  king, 
capital. 

2.  It  was  the  residence  of  Kublai-Khan  about  the  year 
1264,  and  in  the  year  1421  was  established  as  the  capital 
city  by  Yung-Lo,  third  Emperor  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  and 
has  remained  so  since  that  time. 

3.  It  is  in  the  midst  of  a  wide  alluvial  plain  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  empire,  and  not  far  from  the  "  Great 
Wall,"  which  still  stands.     The  city  is  inclosed  by  a  wall, 
faced  with  large  brick,  sixty  to  seventy  feet  in  height,  and 
is  thirty  to  sixty  feet  wide  on  the  top.     From  this  wall  you 
look  down  upon  the  great  city — or  cities — its  houses,  tem- 
ples, and  leafy  gardens.     Along  the  wall  and  at  its  angles 
are  large  and  high  towers,  which  are  used  for  barracks  for 
the  guards  who  always  watch  over  the  city. 

4.  It  is  divided  into  two  parts,  one  the  Tartar,  or  Man- 
chu,  the  other  the  Chinese  city.    The  Tartar  city  has  three 
inclosures,  one  within  the  other,  the  center  of  all  being  the 
Emperor's  city,  containing  the  imperial  palaces  and  their 
surroundings.     Here   the   roofs   are  covered  with  yellow 
porcelain,  the  color  of  royalty,  which  glitter  in  the  shining 


246  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

sun.  Here  is  a  vast  assemblage  of  palaces,  pavilions,  porti 
coes,  devoted  to  the  Emperor  and  to  the  ladies  and  attend- 
ants of  the  royal  household.  In  the  center  of  the  great 
flower-garden,  in  which  grow  a  variety  of  trees,  stand  the 
palaces  of  the  Emperor.  The  principal  gate  or  entrance 
to  this  is  called  the  gate  of  the  Mid-day  Sun,  for  through 
it  walks  forth  the  Emperor  himself. 

5.  The  Tartar  city  is  separated  from  the  Chinese  city 
by  a  wall  and  gates,  and  contains  about  fifteen  square  miles. 
The  Chinese  oit}7,  also  protected  by  walls,  is  somewhat 
smaller,  but  more  populous. 

6.  Broad  streets,  one  hundred  feet  wide,  run  through 
the  Chinese  city  at  right  angles,  upon  which  are  the  great 
shops  where  the  principal  business  is  done.     The  houses 
are  of  but  one  story,  built  of  gray  brick,  and  often  plastered 
and  colored.    Awnings  and  booths  encroach  upon  the  street, 
and  much  space  is  taken  up  by  piles  of  goods  so  arranged 
as  to  attract  the  eyes  of  the  purchaser.     Flags  and  stream- 
ers make  all  gay ;  and  tall  posts  and  perpendicular  signs 
are  covered  with  extravagant  praise  of  the  goods  which  the 
merchant  desires  to  sell. 

7.  These  great  streets  are  thronged  during  the  busy 
hours  of  morning  and  evening.     They  are  not  paved,  and 
the  side-streets  are  narrow  and  neglected.     Clouds  of  dust 
fill  the  air  during  a  portion  of  the  year,  and  particularly 
during  the  winter  months,  when  not  a  drop  of  rain  falls 
upon  the  light  alluvial  soil.     Nor  are  the  streets  lighted  ; 
for  after  nightfall  few  persons  go  about. 

8.  A  police,  armed  with  strong  whips,  endeavors,  how- 
ever, to  preserve  order  and  repress  thefts.    The  fat  of  sheep 
and  the  oil  of  seals  suffice  for  lamps.    Fuel  is  brought  from 
the  coal  mines,  thirty  or  forty  miles,  on  the  backs  of  camels. 
They  are  most  striking  and  picturesque,  as  they  are  seen  in 
long  strings  of  a  hundred  or  more  making  their  way  across 
the  broad  plain.     Carriages  like  ours  do  not  exist ;  but 


CITIES.  247 

small  covered  carts,  without  springs  and  drawn  by  mules, 
are  to  be  hired  in  the  streets,  as  are  also  sedan-chairs.  The 
shop-keepers  are  men.  Tailors  are  women,  and  they  also 
make  the  clothes  for  women,  except  those  made  at  home. 

9.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  see  various  vocations  carried 
on  in  the  open  street.  The  barber  twangs  his  tools,  and 
prepares  to  plait  the  tails,  shave  the  heads,  smooth  the  eye- 
brows ;  a  cook,  under  his  broad  umbrella,  fries  and  stews 
to  tickle  the  taste  of  some  hungry  Chinaman  ;  a  fortune- 
teller is  ready  to  tell  what  he  thinks  you  want  to  know  ;  a 
medical  man  is  not  above  giving  you  a  dose  in  the  street 
for  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  ;  and  an  itinerant  will  supply  you 
with  the  "  classics"  or  with  a  love-song  for  a  few  cash. 


CAIRO. 

1.  OUR  approach  to  and  entrance  into  Cairo  was  the 
illuminated  frontispiece  to  the  volume  of  my  Eastern  life. 
From  the  Nile  we  had  already  seen  the  mosque  of  Sultan 
Hassan,  the  white  domes,  and  long,  pencil-like  minarets  of 
the  new  mosque  of  Mohammed  Ali,  and  the  massive  ma- 
sonry of  the  Citadel,  crowning  a  projecting  spur  of  the  Mo- 
kattem  Hills,  which  touches  the  city  on  the  eastern  side. 
But  when,  mounted  on  ambling  donkeys,  we  followed  the 
laden  baggage-horses  through  the  streets  of  Boolak,  and 
entered  the  broad,  shaded  highway  leading  through  gardens, 
grain-fields,  and  groves  of  palm  and  banana,  to  the  gate  of 
the  great  square  of  Cairo,  the  scene,  which,  at  a  distance, 
had  been  dimmed  and  softened  by  the  filmy  screen  of  the 
Egyptian  air,  now  became  so  gay,  picturesque,  and  animated, 
so  full  of  life  and  motion  and  color,  that  my  dreams  of  the 
East  were  at  one  displaced  by  the  vivid  reality. 


248  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

2.  The  donkey-riding  multitudes  who  passed  continually 
to  and  fro  were  wholly  unlike  the  crowds  of  Smyrna  and 
Alexandria,  where  the  growing  influence  of  European  dress 
and  customs  is  already  visible.     Here,  everything  still  ex- 
haled the  rich  aroma  of  the  Orient,  as  it  had  been  wafted 
to  me  from  the  "Tlibusand  and  One  Nights,"  the  Persian 
poets,  and  the  Arab  chroniclers.     I  forgot  that  I  still  wore 
a  Frank  dress,  and  found  myself  wondering  at  the  temerity 
of  the  few  Europeans  we  met.     I  looked  without  surprise 
on  the  long  processions  of  donkeys  carrying  water-skins, 
the  heavily-laden  camels,  the  women  with  white  masks  on 
their  faces  and  black  bags  around  their  bodies,  the  stolid 
Nubian  slaves,  the  grave  Abyssinians,  and  all  the  other  va- 
rious characters  that  passed  and  repassed  us.     But  because 
they  were  so  familiar  they  were  none  the  less  interesting, 
for   all  had    been   acquaintances,   when,    like    Tennyson, 
"true  Mussulman  was  I,  and  sworn,"  under  the  reign  of 
good  Haroun  Al-Raschid. 

3.  The  Turkish  quarter  of  Cairo  still  retains  the  pict- 
uresque Saracenic  architecture  of  the  times  of  the  Caliphs. 
The  houses  are  mostly  three  stories  in  height,  each  story 
projecting  over  the  other,  and  the  plain  stone  walls  are 
either  whitewashed  or  striped  with  horizontal  red  bars,  in 
a  manner  which  would  be  absurd  under  a  northern  sky,  but 
which  is  here  singularly  harmonious  and  agreeable.     The 
only  signs  of  sculpture  are  occasional  doorways  with  richly 
carved  arches,  or  the  light  marble  gallery  surrounding  a 
fountained  court.     I  saw  a  few  of  these  in  retired  parts  of 
of  the  city. 

4.  The  traveler,  however,  has  an  exhaustless  source  of 
delight  in  the  wooden  balconies  inclosing  the  upper  win- 
dows.    The   extraordinary   lightness,  grace,    and   delicate 
fragility  of  their  workmanship,  rendered  still  more  striking 
by  contrast  with  the  naked  solidity  of  the  walls  to  which 
they  cling,  gave  me  a  new  idea  of  the  skill  and  fancy  of  the 


CITIES. 


249 


Saracenic  architects.  The  wood  seems  rather  woven  in  the 
loom  than  cut  with  the  saw  and  chisel.  Through  these 
lattices  of  fine  net-work,  with  borders  worked  in  lace-like 
patterns,  and  sometimes  topped  with  slender  turrets  and 
pinnacles,  the  wives  of  Cairene  merchants  sit  and  watch  the 


Cairo  from  the  East. 

crowds  passing  softly  to  and  fro  in  the  twilight  of  the  ba- 
zaars, themselves  unseen.  It  needed  no  eifort  of  the  imagi- 
nation to  people  the  fairy  watch-towers  under  which  we  rode 


250  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

daily,  with  forms  as  beautiful  as  those  which  live  in  the 
voluptuous  melodies  of  Hafiz. 

5.  To  see  Cairo  thoroughly,  one  must  first  accustom 
himself  to  the  ways  of  those  long-eared  cabs,  without  the 
use  of  which  I  would  advise  no  one  to  trust  himself  in  the 
bazaars.     Donkey-riding  is  universal,  and  no  one  thinks  of 
going  beyond  the  Frank  quarter  on  foot.     If  he  does,  he 
must  submit  to  be  followed  by  not  less  than  six  donkeys 
with  their  drivers.     A  friend  of  mine,  who  was  attended  by 
such  a  cavalcade  for  two  hours,  was  obliged  to  yield  at  last, 
and  made  no  second  attempt.  When  we  first  appeared  in  the 
gateway  of  our  hotel,  equipped  for  an  excursion,  the  rush 
of  men  and  animals  was  so  great  that  we  were  forced  to 
retreat  until  our  servant  and  the  porter  whipped  us  a  path 
through  the  yelling  and  braying  mob. 

6.  After  one  or  two  trials,  I  found  an  intelligent  Arab 
boy,  named  Kish,  who,  for  five  piastres  a  day,  furnished 
strong,  ambitious  donkeys,  which  he  kept  ready  at  our  door 
from   morning    till   night.     The   other   drivers   respected 
Kish's  privilege,  and  thenceforth  I  had  no  trouble.     The 
donkeys  are  so  small  that  my  feet  nearly  touched  the  ground, 
but  there  is  no  end  to  their  strength  and  endurance.     Their 
gait,  whether  a  pace  or  a  gallop,  is  so  easy  and  light  that 
fatigue  is  impossible.     The  drivers  take  great  pride  in  hav- 
ing high-cushioned   red  saddles,  and   in  hanging  bits  of 
jingling  brass  to  the  bridles.     They  keep  their  donkeys 
close  shorn,  and  frequently  beautify  them  by  painting  them 
various  colors. 

7.  The  passage  of  the  bazaars  seems  at  first  quite  as 
hazardous  on  donkey-back  as  on  foot,  but  it  is  the  differ- 
ence between  knocking  somebody  down  and  being  knocked 
down  yourself,  and  one  naturally  prefers  the  former  alter- 
native.    There  is  no  use  in  attempting  to  guide  the  donkey, 
for  he  won't  be  guided.     The  driver  shouts  behind,  and 
you  are  dashed  at  full  speed  into  a  confusion  of  other  don- 


CITIES.  251 

keys,  camels,  horses,  carts,  water-carriers,  and  footmen. 
In  vain  you  cry  out :  "  Bess  ! "  (enough  !)  "  Piano  ! "  and 
other  desperate  adjurations ;  the  driver's  only  reply  is  : 
"  Let  the  bridle  hang  loose  ! " 

8.  You  dodge  your  head  under  a  camel-load  of  planks  ; 
your  leg  brushes  the  wheel  of  a  dust-cart ;  you  strike  a  fat 
Turk  plump  in  the  back  ;  you  miraculously  escape  upset- 
ting a  fruit-stand  ;  you  scatter  a  company  of  spectral,  white- 
masked  women,  and  at  last  reach  some  more  quiet  street, 
with  the  sensation  of  a  man  who  has  stormed  a  battery. 
At  first  this  sort  of   riding   made  me  very  nervous,  but 
finally  I  let  the  donkey  go  his  own  way,  and  took  a  curious 
interest  in  seeing  how  near  a  chance  I  ran  of  striking  or 
being  struck. 

9.  Sometimes  there  seemed  no  hope  of  avoiding  a  vio- 
lent collision,  but  by  a  series  of  the  most  remarkable  dodges 
he  generally  carried  me  through  in  safety.     The  cries  of 
the  driver,  running  behind,  gave  me  no  little  amusement : 
"  The   Howadji  comes  !     Take  care  on  the  right  hand  ! 
take  care  on  the  left  hand  !     0  man,  take  care  !     0  maid- 
en, take  care  !     0  boy,  get  out  of  the  way  !     The  Howadji 
comes  ! "     Kish  had  strong  lungs,  and  his  donkey  would  let 
nothing  pass  him,  and  so,  wherever  we  went,  we  contributed 
our  full  share  to  the  universal  noise  and  confusion. 

Bayard  Taylor. 


EDINBURGH. 

1.  IT  is  an  odd  place,  Edinboro'.  The  old  town  and  the 
new  are  separated  by  a  broad  and  deep  ravine,  planted  with 
trees  and  shrubbery ;  and  across  this,  on  a  level  with  the 
streets  on  either  side,  stretches  a  bridge  of  a  most  giddy 
height,  without  which  all  communication  would  apparently 
be  cut  off.  "  Auld  Eeekie  "  itself  looks  built  on  the  back- 


252 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


bone  of  a  ridgy  crag,  and  towers  along  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  ravine,  running  up  its  twelve- story  houses  to  the  sky 
in  an  ascending  curve,  till  it  terminates  in  the  frowning  and 
battlemented  castle,  whose  base  is  literally  on  a  mountain- 
top  in  the  midst  of  the  city. 


Street  in  Old  Edinburgh. 

2.  At  the  foot  of  this  ridge,  in  the  lap  of  the  valley,  lies 
Ilolyrood-house  ;  and  between  this  and  the  castle  runs  a 
single  street,  part  of  which  is  the  old  Canongate.     Princes' 
Street,  the  Broadway  of  the  new  town,  is  built  along  the 
opposite  edge  of  the  ravine  facing  the  long,  many-windowed 
walls  of  the  Canongate,  and  from  every  part  of  Edinboro' 
these  singular  features  are  conspicuously  visible.     A  more 
striking  contrast  than  exists  between  these  two  parts  of  the 
same  city  could  hardly  be  imagined. 

3.  On  one  side  a  succession  of  splendid  squares,  elegant 


CITIES.  253 

granite  houses,  broad  and  well-paved  streets,  columns,  stat- 
ues, and  clean  sidewalks  thinly  promenaded,  and  by  the 
well-dressed  exclusively — a  kind  of  wholly  grand  and  half- 
deserted  city,  which  has  been  built  too  ambitiously  for  its 
population — and  on  the  other,  an  antique  wilderness  of 
streets  and  "wynds,"  so  narrow  and  lofty  as  to  shut  out 
much  of  the  light  of  heaven  ;  a  thronging,  busy,  and  par- 
ticularly dirty  population,  sidewalks  almost  impassable 
from  children  and  other  respected  nuisances  ;  and  alto- 
gether, between  the  irregular  and  massive  architecture,  and 
the  unintelligible  jargon  agonizing  the  air  about  you,  a 
most  outlandish  and  strange  city.  Paris  is  not  more  unlike 
Constantinople  than  one  side  of  Edinboro'  is  unlike  the 
other.  Nature  has  probably  placed  a  "  great  gulf  "  between 
them. 

N.  P.  Willis. 


DAMASCUS. 

1.  IT  has  been  generally  understood,  I  believe,  that  the 
houses  of  Damascus  are  more  sumptuous  than  those  of  any 
other  city  in  the  East.     Every  rich  man's  house  stands  de- 
tached from  its  neighbors  at  the  side  of  a  garden,  and  it  is 
from  this  cause,  no  doubt,  that  the  city  has  hitherto  escaped 
destruction.     You  know  some  parts  of  Spain,  but  you  have 
never,  I  think,  been  in  Andalusia  ;  if  you  had,  I  could  easi- 
ly show  you  the  interior  of  a  Damascene  house  by  referring 
you  to  the  Alhambra  or  Alcazar  of  Seville. 

2.  The  lofty  rooms  are  adorned  with  a  rich  inlaying  of 
many  colors  and  illuminated  writings  on  the  walls.     The 
floors  are  of  marble.     One  side  of  any  room  intended  for 
noonday  retirement  is  generally  laid  open  to  a  quadrangle, 
in  the  center  of  which  dances  the  jet  of  a  fountain.     There 
'•&  no  furniture  that  can  interfere  with  the  cool,  palace-like 


254  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

emptiness  of  the  apartments.  A  divan,  which  is  a  low  iiiid 
doubly  broad  sofa,  runs  round  three  walled  sides  of  the 
rooms.  A  few  Persian  carpets,  which  ought  to  be  called 
Persian  rugs,  for  that  is  the  word  which  indicates  their  shape 
and  dimensions,  are  sometimes  thrown  about  near  the  divan. 
They  are  placed  without  order,  the  one  partly  lapping  over 
the  other,  and  thus  disposed  they  give  to  the  room  an  ap- 
pearance of  uncaring  luxury.  Except  these,  there  is  noth- 
ing to  obstruct  the  welcome  air,  and  the  whole  of  the  marble 
floor,  from  one  divan  to  the  other  and  from  the  head  of  the 
chamber  across  to  the  murmuring  fountain,  is  thoroughly 
open  and  free. 

3.  So  simple  as  this  is  Asiatic  luxury  !     The  Oriental  is 
not  a  contriving  animal ;  there  is  nothing  intricate  in  his 
magnificence.    The  impossibility  of  handing  down  property 
from  father  to  son  for  any  long  period  seems  to  prevent  the 
existence  of  those  traditions  by  which,  with  us,  the  refined 
modes  of  applying  wealth  are  made  known  to  its  inheritors. 
The  pasha  and  the  peasant  have  the  same  tastes.     The 
broad,  cold  marble  floor  ;  the  simple  couch  ;  the  air  freshly 
waving  through  a  shady  chamber ;  a  verse  of  the  Koran 
emblazoned  on  the  wall ;  the  sight  and  sound  of  falling 
water ;  the  cold,  fragrant  smoke  of  the  nargile  ;  and  a  small 
collection  of  wives  and  children  in  the  inner  apartments — all 
these,  the  utmost  enjoyments  of  the  grandee,  are  such  as  to 
be  appreciable  by  the  humblest  Mussulman  in  the  empire. 

4.  The  chief  places  of  public  amusement,  or  rather  of 
public  relaxation,  are  the  baths  and  the  great  cafe ;  this 
last,  which  is  frequented  at  night  by  most  of  the  wealthy 
men  and  by  many  of  the  humbler  sort,  consists  of  a  number 
of  sheds,  very  simply  framed  and  built  in  a  labyrinth  of 
running  streams,  which  foam  and  roar  on  every  side.     The 
place  is  lit  up  in  the  simplest  manner  by  numbers  of  pale 
lamps  strung  upon  loose   cords,   and  so  suspended  from 
branch  to  branch  that  the  light,  though  it  looks  so  quiet 


CITIES.  255 

among  the  darkening  foliage   yet  leaps  and  brightly  flashes 
as  it  falls  upon  the  troubled  waters. 

5.  All  around,  upon  the  very  edge  of  the  torrents,  groups 
of  people  are  tranquilly  seated.     They  all  drink  coffee  and 
inhale  the  cold  fumes  of  the  nargile  ;  they  talk  very  gently 
the  one  to  the  other,  or  else  are  silent.    A  father  will  some- 
times have  two  or  three  of  his  boys  around  him ;  but  the 
joyousness  of  an  Oriental  child  is  all  of  the  sober  sort,  and 
never  disturbs  the  reigning  calm  of  the  land. 

6.  But  its  gardens   are   the  delight — the  delight   and 
pride — of  Damascus.     They  are  not  formal  parterres  which 
you  might  expect  from  the  Oriental  taste.     Forest  trees, 
tall  and  stately  enough  if  you  could  see  their  lofty  crests, 
yet  leading  a  tussling  life  of  it  below,  with  their  branches 
struggling  against  strong  numbers  of  bushes  and  willful 
shrubs.    The  shade  upon  the  earth  is  black  as  night.    High, 
high  above  your  head,  and  on  every  side  all  down  to  the 
ground,  the  thicket  is  hemmed  in  and  choked  up  by  the 
interlacing  boughs,  that  droop  with  the  weight  of  roses  and 
load  the  slow  air  with  their  damask  breath.     There  are  no 
other  flowers. 

7.  Here  and  there  there  are  patches  of  ground  made 
clear  from  the  cover,  and  these  are  either  carelessly  planted 
with  some  common  and  useful  vegetable  or  else  are  left  free 
to  the  wayward  ways  of  Nature,  and  bear  rank  weeds,  moist- 
looking  and  cool  to  your  eyes,  and  freshening  the  sense  with 
their  earthy  and  bitter  fragrance.     There  is  a  lane  opened 
through  the  thicket,  so  broad  in  some  places  that  you  can 
pass  along  side  by  side  ;  in  some  so  narrow  that  you  ought, 
if  you  can,  to  go  on  first,  and  hold  back  the  boughs  of  the 
rose-trees.     And  through  this  wilderness  there  tumbles  a 
loud,  rushing  stream,  which  is  halted  at  last  in  the  lowest 
corner  of  the  garden,  and  there  tossed  up  in  a  fountain  by 
the  side  of  the  simple  alcove. 

Kinylake. 


256  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


APPROACH    TO   JERUSALEM. 

1.  No  view  is  more  unique  than  that  of  Jerusalem  as 
you  approach  it  from  the  west.     You  look  not  so  much  at 
it  as  into  it  and  over  it.      Though  situated  on  a  mountain 
top,  it  is  surrounded  by  loftier  mountains  :  on  your  right, 
the  mountains  of  Judea,  on  which  you  stand  ;  on  the  left, 
the  Mount  of  Olives  ;  and,  far  beyond,  the  mountain  desert, 
at  the  foot  of  which  the  Jordan  makes  its  hurried  way  to 
the  Dead  Sea. 

2.  Our  first  surprise  was,  that  so  famous  a  city  should 
be  so  small.     But  this  diminutiveness  is  itself  a  charm. 
You  see  in  its  entire  circuit  the  lofty  wall,  with  its  beauti- 
ful parapets.    Within  the  wall,  clustering,  but  not  crowded, 
you  see,  without  shade  or  variation,  the  white  roofs,  balus- 
trades, domes,  and  minarets  of  lofty  palaces,  and  majestic 
churches  and  mosques.     Though  not  especially  conversant 
with  the  modern  history  and  geography  of  the  city,  we  had 
no  difficulty  in  distinguishing  the  recently  renewed  and 
magnificent  dome  which  protects  the  Holy  Sepulchre.    We 
also  recognized,  by  its  situation  and  its  gorgeous  though 
faded  dome,  the  Mosque  of  Omar,  which  now  crowns  Mount 
Moriah,  and  stands  upon  the  site  of  the  ancient  Temple  of 
Solomon. 

3.  If  one  knew  no  more  of  the  Gospel  than  what  he 
recalls  of  his  childhood's  lessons,  he  could  not  mistake 
either  the  Plain  of  Bethlehem  or  the  Mount  of  Olives.    Nor 
could  he  mistake  the  significance  of  that  solitary  clump  of 
olive  and  cypress  trees,  which,  at  the  foot  of  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  overhangs  a  long,  low  ravine,  which  divides  Mount 
Zion  from  the  Mount  of  Olives.     That  ravine  is  the  Valley 
of  Jehoshaphat,  and  that  cloister  of  solemn  shade  is  Geth- 
semane. 

4.  Forgetting  for  a  moment  the  devastations  of  the 


CITIES.  257 

Turks,  the  Crusaders,  the  Saracens,  the  Romans,  the 
Greeks,  the  Persians,  the  Babylonians,  and  the  Egyp- 
tians, you  accept  this  little  Turkish  town  as  the  city  which 
was  built  and  adorned  by  Solomon,  and  as  a  perfect  embodi- 
ment of  the  devotional  idea  of  our  faith,  and  do  not  wonder 
that,  completed  so  long  ago,  it  has  been  left  to  stand  un- 
changed, unshaken,  and  alone,  for  the  admiration  and  rev- 
erence of  ages. 

Steward's  Travels. 


PART  XVII. 
a.0 INS  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES. 


A   VISIT   TO    BAALBEC. 

1.  BY  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  we  reached  Baalbec. 
The  distant  view  of  the  temple  on  descending  the  last  slope 
of  the  anti-Lebanon  is  not  calculated  to  raise  one's  expec- 
tations.    On  the  green  plain  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain 
you  see  a  large  square  platform  of  masonry,  upon  which 
stand  six  columns,  the  body  of  the  temple,  and  a  quantity 
of  ruined  walls.     As  a  feature  in  the  landscape,  it  has  a 
fine  effect,  but  you  find  yourself  pronouncing  the  speedy 
judgment,    that    "Baalbec    without    Lebanon    would   be 
rather  a  poor  show."     Having  come  to  this  conclusion,  you 
ride  down  the  hill  with  comfortable  feelings  of  indifference. 
There  are  a  number  of  quarries  on  the  left  hand  ;  you 
glance  at  them  with  an  expression  that  merely  says  :  "Ah  ! 
I  suppose  they  got  the  stones  here,''  and  so  you  saunter  on, 
cross  a  little  stream,  that  flows  down  from  the  modern  vil- 
lage, pass  a  mill,  return  the  stare  of  the  quaint  Arab  miller 
who  comes  to  the  door  to  see  you,  and  your  horse  is  climb- 
ing a  difficult  path  among  the  broken  columns  and  friezes, 
before  you  think  it  worth  while  to  lift  your  eyes  to  the 
piles  above  you. 

2.  Now,  reassert  your  judgment  if  you  dare  !     This  is 
Baalbec  :  what  have  you  to  say  ?    Nothing  ;  but  you  amaz- 


RUINS  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES.  259 

edly  measure  the  torsos  of  great  columns  which  are  piled 
across  one  another  in  magnificent  wreck  ;  vast  pieces  which 
have  dropped  from  the  entablature,  beautiful  Corinthian 
capitals,  bereft  of  the  last  graceful  curves  of  their  acanthus 
leaves,  and  blocks  whose  edges  are  so  worn  away  that  they 
resemble  enormous  natural  bowlders  left  by  the  deluge,  till 
at  last  you  look  up  to  the  six  glorious  pillars  towering  nigh 
a  hundred  feet  above  your  head,  and  there  is  a  sensation  in 
your  brain,  which  would  be  a  shout  if  you  could  give  utter- 
ance, of  faultless  symmetry  and  majesty,  such  as  no  concep- 
tion of  yours  and  no  other  conception  of  art  can  surpass. 

3.  I  know  of  nothing  so  beautiful  in  all  remains  of  an- 
cient art  as  these  six  columns,  except  the  colonnade  of  the 
Memnonium  at  Thebes,  which  is  of  much  smaller  propor- 
tions.    From  every  position,  and  with  all  lights  of  the  day 
or  night,  they  are  equally  perfect,  and  carry  your  eyes  con- 
tinually away  from  the  peristyle  of  the  smaller  temple,  which 
is  better  preserved,  and  from  the  exquisite  architecture  of 
the  outer  courts  and  pavilions.     The  two  temples  of  Baal- 
bee  stand  on  an  artificial  platform  of  masonry,  a  thousand 
feet  in  length,  and  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  (according  to 
the  depression  of  the  soil)  in  height.    The  larger  one,  which 
is  supposed  to  have  been  a  Pantheon,  occupies  the  whole 
length  of  this  platform.    The  entrance  was  at  the  north,  by 
a  grand  flight  of  steps,   now  broken  away,   between  two 
lofty  and  elegant  pavilions  which  are  still  nearly  entire. 
Then  followed  a  spacious  hexagonal  court,  and  three  grand 
halls,  parts  of  which,  with  niches  for  statues,  adorned  with 
cornices  and  pediments,   of  elaborate  design,  still  remain 
entire  to  the  roof.     This  magnificent  series  of  chambers  was 
terminated  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  platform  by 
the  main  temple,  which  had  originally  twenty  columns  on 
a  side,  similar  to  the  six  now  standing. 

4.  The  Temple  of  the  Sun  stands  on  a  smaller  and  lower 
platform,  which  appears  to  have  been  subsequently  added 

18 


260  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

to  the  greater  one.  The  cella,  or  body  of  the  temple,  is 
complete  except  the  roof,  and  of  the  colonnade  surround- 
ing it,  nearly  one  half  of  its  pillars  are  standing,  upholding 
the  frieze,  entablature,  and  cornice,  which  altogether  form 
probably  the  most  ornate  specimen  of  the  Corinthian  order 
of  architecture  now  extant.  Only  four  pillars  of  the  su- 
perb portico  remain,  and  the  Saracens  have  nearly  mined 
these  by  building  a  sort  of  watch-tower  upon  the  architrave. 

5.  The  same  unscrupulous  race  completely  shut  up  the 
portal  of  the  temple  with  a  blank  wall,  formed  of  the  frag- 
ments they  had  hurled  down,  and  one  is  obliged  to  creep 
through  a  narrow  hole  in  order  to  reach  the  interior.    Here 
the  original  doorway  faces  you — and  I  know  not  how  to  de- 
scribe the  wonderful  design  of  its  elaborate  sculptured  mold- 
ings and  cornices.     The  genius  of  Greek  art  seems  to  have 
exhausted  itself  in  inventing  ornaments,  which,  while  they 
should  heighten  the  gorgeous  effect  of  the  work,  must  yet 
harmonize  with  the  grand  design  of  the  temple.     The  enor- 
mous  keystone  over   the  entrance  has  slipped  down,  no 
doubt  from  the  shock  of  an  earthquake,  and  hangs  within 
six  inches  of  the  bottom  of  the  two  blocks  which  uphold  it 
on  either  side.     When  it  falls,  the  whole  entablature  of 
the  portal  will  be  destroyed. 

6.  On  its  lower  side  is  an  eagle  with  outspread  wings, 
and  on  the  side-sfones  a  genius  with  garlands  of  flowers 
exquisitely  sculptured  in   bas-relief.     Hidden   among  the 
wreaths  of  vines  which  adorn  the  jambs  are  the  laughing 
heads  of  fauns.     This  portal  was  a  continual  study  to  me, 
every  visit  revealing  new  refinements  of  ornament  which  I 
had  not  before  observed.     The  interior  of  the  temple,  with 
its  rich  Corinthian  pilasters,  its  niches  for  statues,  sur- 
mounted by  pediments  of  elegant  design,  and  its  elaborate 
cornice,  needs  little  aid  of  the  imagination  to  restore  to  it 
its  original  perfection.     Like  that  of  Denderah  in  Egypt, 
the  Temple  of  the  Sun  leaves  upon  the  mind  an  impression 


RUINS  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES.  261 

of  completeness  which  makes  you  forget  far  grander  re- 
mains. 

7.  But  the  most  wonderful  thing  at   Baalbec  is  the 
foundation  platform  upon  which  the  temples  stand.     Even 
the  colossal  fabrics  of  ancient  Egypt  dwindle  before  this 
superhuman  masonry.     The  platform  itself,  one  thousand 
feet  long,  and  averaging  twenty  feet  in  height,  suggests  a 
vast  mass  of  stones  ;  but,  when  you  come  to  examine  the  sin- 
gle blocks  of  which  it  is  composed,  you  are  crushed  with 
their  incredible  magnitude.     On  the  western  side  is  a  row 
of  eleven  foundation  stones,  each  of  which  is  thirty-two  feet 
in  length,  twelve  in  height,  and  ten  in  thickness,  forming 
a  wall  three  hundred  and  fifty-two  feet  long  !     But,  while 
you  are  walking  on  thinking  of  the  art  which  cut  and 
raised  these  enormous  blocks,  you  turn  the  southern  corner 
and  come  upon  three  stones,  the  united  length  of  which  is 
one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  feet — two  of  them  being  sixty- 
two  and  the  other  sixty-three  feet  in  length  !     There  they 
are,  cut  with  faultless  exactness,  and  so  smoothly  joined  to 
each  other  that  you  can  not  force  a  cambric  needle  into 
their  crevice. 

8.  There  is  one  joint  so  perfect  that  it  can  only  be  dis- 
cerned by  the  minutest  search  ;  it  is  not  even  so  perceptible 
as  the  junction  of  two  pieces  of  paper  which  have  been 
pasted  together.     In  the  quarry  there  still  lies  a  finished 
block  ready  for  transportation,  which  is  sixty-seven  feet  in 
length.     The  weight  of  one  of  these  masses  has  been  reck- 
oned at  near  nine  thousand  tons,  yet  they  do  not  form  the 
base  of  the  foundation,  but  are  raised  upon  other  courses, 
fifteen  feet  from  the  ground.     It  is  considered  by  some 
antiquarians  that  they  are  of  a  date  greatly  anterior  to  that 
of  the  temples,  and  were  intended  as  the  basement  of  a  dif- 
ferent edifice. 

9.  In  the  village  of  Baalbec  there  is  a  small  circular 
Corinthian  temple  of  very  elegant  design.     It  is  not  more 


262  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

than  thirty  feet  in  diameter,  and  may  have  been  intended 
as  a  tomb.  A  spacious  mosque,  now  roofless  and  deserted, 
was  constructed  almost  entirely  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  tem- 
ples. Adjoining  the  court-yard  and  fountain  are  five  rows 
of  ancient  pillars,  forty  (the  sacred  number)  in  all,  sup- 
porting light  Saracenic  arches.  Some  of  them  are  marble, 
with  Corinthian  capitals,  and  eighteen  are  single  shafts  of 
red  Egyptian  granite.  Beside  the  fountain  lies  a  small 
broken  pillar  of  porphyry,  of  a  dark  violet  hue,  and  of  so 
fine  a  grain  that  the  stone  has  the  soft  rich  luster  of  velvet. 
This  fragment  is  the  only  thing  I  would  carry  away  if  I 
had  the  power. 

Bayard  Taylor. 


DEN  DERAH. 

1.  OK  the  western  bank  of  the  Nile,  opposite  Keneh, 
is  the  site  of  the  city  of  Tentyra,  famed  for  its  temple  of 
Athor.     It  is  now  called  Denderah,  from  the  modern  Arab 
village.     After   breakfast   we   shipped   ourselves    and   our 
donkeys  across  the  Nile,  and  rode  off  in  high  excitement, 
to  make   our  first   acquaintance  with   Egyptian   temples. 
The  path  led  through  a  palm-grove,  which  in  richness  and 
beauty  rivaled  those  of  Mexico.     The  lofty  shafts  of  the 
date  and  the  vaulted  foliage  of  the  doum-palm,  blended  in 
the  most  picturesque  groupage,  contrasted  with  the  lace- 
like   texture   of    the   flowering   mimosa,    and   the   cloudy 
boughs  of  a  kind  of  gray  cypress. 

2.  The  turf  under  the  trees  was  soft  and  green,   and 
between  the  slim  trunks  we  looked  over  the  plain  to  the 
Libyan  Mountains — a  long  train  of  rosy  lights  and  violet 
shadows.     Out  of  this  lovely  wood  we  passed  between  mag- 
nificent fields  of  durra  and  the  castor-oil  bean,  fifteen  feet 
in  height,  to  a  dyke  which  crossed  the  meadows  to  Den- 


RUINS   OF  ANCIENT  CITIES. 


263 


derail.  The  leagues  of  rank  grass  on  our  right  rolled  awa) 
to  the  Desert  in  shining  billows,  and  the  fresh  west  wind 
wrapped  us  in  a  bath  of  intoxicating  odors.  In  the  midst 
of  this  green  and  peaceful  plain  rose  the  earthy  mounds  of 
Tentyra,  and  the  portico  of  the  temple,  almost  buried  be- 


Part  of  the  Temple  of  DenderaJi. 

neath  them,  stood  like  a  beacon,  marking  the  boundary  of 
the  Desert. 

3.  We  galloped  our  little  animals  along  the  dyke,  over 
heaps  of  dirt  and  broken  bricks,  among  which  a  number  of 
Arabs  were  burrowing  for  nitrous  earth,  and  dismounted  at 
a  small  pylon,  which  stands  two  or  three  hundred  paces  in 


264  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

front  of  the  temple.  The  huge  jambs  of  sandstone,  cov- 
ered with  sharply-cut  hieroglyphics  and  figures  of  the 
Egyptian  gods,  and  surmounted  by  a  single  block,  bearing 
the  mysterious  winged  globe  and  serpent,  detained  us  but 
a  moment,  and  we  hurried  down  what  was  once  the  dromos 
of  the  temple,  now  represented  by  a  double  wall  of  unburnt 
bricks. 

4.  The  portico,  more  than  a  hundred  feet  in  length,  and 
supported  by  six  columns  united  by  screens  of  masonry, 
no  stone  of  which,   or  of  the  columns  themselves,  is  un- 
sculptured,   is   massive   and  imposing,  but   struck   me  as 
being  too  depressed  to  produce  a  very  grand  effect.     What 
was  my  astonishment,  on  arriving  at  the  entrance,  to  find 
that  I  had  approached  the  temple  on  a  level  with  half  its 
height,  and  that  the  pavement  of  the  portico  was  as  far 
below  as  the  scrolls  of  its  cornice  were  above  me.     The  six 
columns  I  had  seen  covered  three  other  rows,  of  six  each, 
all  adorned  with  the  most  elaborate  sculpture  and  exhibiting 
traces  of  the  brilliant  coloring  which  they  once  possessed. 

5.  The  entire  temple,  which  is  in  an  excellent  state  of 
preservation,  except  where  the  hand  of  the  Coptic  Chris- 
tian has  defaced  its  sculptures,  was  cleaned  out  by  order 
of  Mohammed  Ali ;  and  as  all  its  chambers,  as  well  as  the 
roof  of  enormous  sandstone  blocks,  are  entire,  it  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  most  complete  relics  of  Egyptian  art. 

6.  I  find  my  pen  at  fault  when  I  attempt  to  describe 
the  impression   produced  by  the   splendid  portico.     The 
twenty-four  columns,  each  of  which  is  sixty  feet  in  height, 
and  eight  feet  in  diameter,  crowded  upon  a  surface  of  one 
hundred  feet  by  seventy,  are  oppressive  in  their  grandeur. 
The  dim  light,  admitted  through  the  half  closed  front, 
which  faces  the  north,  spreads  a  mysterious  gloom  around 
these  mighty  shafts,  crowned  with  the  fourfold  visage  of 
Athor,  still  rebuking  the  impious  hands  that  have  marred 
her  solemn  beauty. 


RUINS  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES.  265 

7.  On  the  walls,  between  columns  of  hieroglyphics  and 
the  cartouches  of  the  Caesars  and  the  Ptolemies,  appear  the 
principal  Egyptian  deities — the   rigid   Osiris,   the   stately 
Isis,  and  the  hawk-headed  Orus.     Around  the  bases  of  the 
columns  spring  the  leaves  of  the  sacred  lotus,  and  the  dark- 
blue  ceiling  is  spangled  with  stars,  between  the  wings  of 
the  divine  emblem.     The  sculptures  are  all  in  raised  relief, 
and  there  is  no  stone  in  the  temple  without  them. 

8.  The  portico  opens  into  a  hall,  supported  by  six  beau- 
tiful columns,  of  smaller  proportions,   and  lighted  by   a 
square  aperture  in  the  solid  roof.     On  either  side  are  cham- 
bers connected  with  dim  and  lofty  passages,  and  beyond  are 
the  sanctuary  and  various  other  apartments,  which  receive 
no  light  from  without.     We  examined  their  sculptures  by 
the  aid  of  torches,  and  our  Arab  attendants  kindled  large 
fires  of  dry  corn-stalks,  which  cast  a  strong  red  light  on 
the  walls.     The  temple  is  devoted  to  Athor,  the  Egyptian 
Venus,  and  her  image  is  everywhere  seen  receiving  the  hom- 
age of  her  worshipers.     Even  the  dark  staircase,  leading  to 
the  roof — up  which  we  climbed  over  heaps  of  sand  and  rub- 
bish— is  decorated  throughout  with  processions  of  symbolical 
figures.     The  drawing  has  little  of  that  grotesque  stiffness 
which  I  expected  to  find  in  Egyptian  sculptures,  and  the 
execution  is  so  admirable  in  its  gradations  of  light  and  shade 
as  to  resemble,  at  a  little  distance,  a  monochromatic  painting. 

9.  Around  the  temple  and  over   the   mounds   of   the 
ancient  city  are  scattered  the  ruins  of  the  Arab  village 
which  the  inhabitants  suddenly  deserted,  without  any  ap- 
parent reason,  two  or  three  years  previous  to  our  visit. 
Behind  it  stretches  the  yellow  sand  of  the  Desert.     The 
silence  and  aspect  of  desertion  harmonize  well  with  the 
spirit  of  the  place,  which  would  be  much  disturbed  were 
one  beset,  as  is  usual  in  the  Arab  towns,  by  a  gang  of  naked 

beggars  and  barking  wolf-dogs. 

Bayard  Taylor, 


266  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


K  A  R  N  A  K  . 

1.  OUR  next  visit  was  to  Karnak,  the  greatest  ruin  in 
the  world,  the  crowning  triumph  of  Egyptian  power  and 
Egyptian  art.     Except  a  broken  stone  here  and  there  pro- 
truding through  the  soil,  the  plain  is  as  desolate  as  if  it 
had  never  been  conscious  of  a  human  dwelling,  and  only  on 
reaching  the  vicinity  of  the  mud  hamlet  of  Karnak  can 
the  traveler  realize  that  he  is  in  Thebes.     Here  the  camel- 
path  drops  into  a  broad,  excavated  avenue,  lined  with  frag- 
ments of  sphinxes  and  shaded  by  starveling  acacias.     As 
you  advance,  the  sphinxes  are  better  preserved  and  remain 
seated  on  their  pedestals,  but  they  have  all  been  decapitated. 
Though  of  colossal  proportions,  they  are  seated  so  close  to 
each  other  that  it  must  have  required  nearly  two  thousand 
to  form  the  double  row  to  Luxor. 

2.  The  avenue  finally  reaches  a  single  pylon,  of  majes- 
tic proportions,  built  by  one  of  the  Ptolemies,  and  covered 
with  hieroglyphics.     Passing   through   this,  the  sphinxes 
lead  you  to  another  pylon,  followed  by  a  pillared  court  and 
a  temple  built  by  the  later  Ramessids.     This,  I  thought, 
while  my  friend  was  measuring  the  girth  of  the  pillars,  is 
a  good  beginning  for  Karnak,  but  is  certainly  much  less 
than  I  expect.     "  Come  this  way  !  "  called  the  guide,  as  if 
reading  my  mind,  and  led  me  up  heaps  of  rubbish  to  the 
roof  and  pointed  to  the  north. 

3.  Ah,  there  was  Karnak  !     Had  I  been  blind  up  to  this 
time,  or  had  the  earth  suddenly  heaved  out  of  her  breast 
the  remains  of  the  glorious  temple  ?     From  all  parts  of  the 
plain  of  Thebes  I  had  seen  it  in  the  distance — a  huge  pro- 
pylon,  a  shattered  portico,  and  an  obelisk  rising  above  the 
palms.     Whence  this  wilderness  of  ruins,  spreading  so  far 
as  to  seem  a  city  rather  than  a  temple — pylon  after  pylon, 
tumbling  into  enormous  cubes  of  stone,  long  colonnades. 


RUINS  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES.  26Y 

supporting  fragments   of    Titanic   roofs,   obelisks   of    red 
granite,  and  endless  walls  and  avenues,  branching  out  to 


Columns  at  Karnak. 

isolated  portals  ?    Yet  they  stood  as  silently  amid  the  ac- 


268  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

cumulated  rubbish  of  nearly  four  thousand  years,  and  the 
sunshine  threw  its  yellow  luster  as  serenely  over  the  de- 
spoiled sanctuaries,  as  if  it  had  never  been  otherwise  since 
the  world  began.  Figures  are  of  no  use  in  describing  a 
place  like  this,  but,  since  I  must  use  them,  I  may  say  that 
the  length  of  the  ruins  before  us,  from  west  to  east,  was 
twelve  hundred  feet,  and  that  the  total  circumference  of 
Karnak,  including  its  numerous  pylae,  or  gateways,  is  a 
mile  and  a  half. 

4.  We  mounted  and  rode  with  fast-beating  hearts  to  the 
western  or  main  entrance,  facing  the  Nile.     The  two  towers 
of  the  propylon — pyramidal  masses  of  solid  stone — are  three 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  feet  in  length,  and  the  one  which 
is  least  ruined  is  nearly  one  hundred  feet  in  height.     On 
each  side  of  the  sculptured  portal  connecting  them  is  a  tab- 
let, left  by  the  French  army,  recording  the  geographical 
position  of  the  principal  Egyptian   temples.     We  passed 
through  and  entered  an  open  court,  more  than  three  hun- 
dred feet  square,  with  a  corridor  of  immense  pillars  on  each 
side,   connecting   it  with   the  towers  of  a  second  pylon, 
nearly  as  gigantic  as  the  first. 

5.  A  colonnade  of  lofty  shafts,  leading  through  the  center 
of  the  court,  once  united  the  two  entrances,  but  they  have 
all  been  hurled  down  and  lay  as  they  fell,  in  long  lines  of 
disjointed  blocks,  except  one,  which  holds  its  solitary  lotus- 
bell  against  the  sky.     Two  mutilated  colossi  of  red  granite 
still  guard  the  doorway,  whose  lintel-stones  are  forty  feet 
in  length.     Climbing  over  the  huge  fragments  which  have 
fallen  from  above  and  almost  blocked  up  the  passage,  we 
looked  down  into  the  grand  hall  of  the  temple. 

6.  I  knew  the  dimensions  of  this  hall  beforehand  ;  I 
knew  the  number  and  size  of  the  pillars,  but  I  was  no  more 
prepared  for  the  reality  than  those  will  be  who  may  read 
this  account  of  it  and  afterward  visit  Karnak  for  them- 
selves.    It  is  the  great  good  luck  of  travel  that  many  things 


RUINS  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES. 


must  be  seen  to  be  known.  Nothing  could  have  compen- 
sated for  the  loss  of  that  overwhelming  confusion  of  awe, 
astonishment,  and  delight,  which  came  upon  me  like  a 
flood.  I  looked  down  an  avenue  of  twelve  pillars — six  on 
each  side — each  of  which  was  thirty-six  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence and  nearly  eighty  feet  in  height.  Crushing  as  were 
these  ponderous  masses  of  sculptured  stone,  the  spreading 
bell  of  the  lotus-blossoms  which  crowned  them  clothed 
them  with  an  atmosphere  of  lightness  and  grace.  In  front, 
over  the  top  of  another  pile  of  colossal  blocks,  two  obelisks 
rose  sharp  and  clear,  with  every  emblem  legible  on  their 
polished  sides. 

7.  On  each  side  of  the  main  aisle  are  seven  other  rows 
of  columns — one  hundred  and  twenty-tivo  in  all — each  of 
which  is  about  fifty  feet  in  height  and  twenty-seven  in  cir- 
cumference.    They  have  the  Osiride  form  without  capitals, 
and  do  not  range  with  the  central  shafts.     In  the  efforts  of 
the  conquerors  to  overthrow  them,  two  have  been  hurled 
from  their  places  and  thrown  against  neighboring  ones, 
where  they  still  lean,  as  if  weary  with  holding  up  the  roof 
of  massive  sandstone.     I  walked  alone  through  this  hall, 
trying  to  bear  the  weight  of  its  unutterable  majesty  and 
beauty.      That  I   had  been   so   oppressed   by   Denderah, 
seemed  a  weakness  which  I  was  resolved  to  conquer,  and  I 
finally  succeeded  in  looking  on  Karnak  with  a  calmness 
more  commensurate  with  its  sublime  repose — but  not  by 
daylight.    My  ride  back  to  Luxor,  toward  evening,  was  the 
next  best  thing  after  Karnak. 

8.  It  was  precisely  full  moon,  and  I  determined  on  visit- 
ing Karnak  again  before  leaving.     There  was  no.  one  but 
the  guide  and  I,  he  armed  with  a  long  spear  and  I  with  my 
pistols  in  my  belt.     There  was  a  wan  haze  in  the  air,  and  a 
pale  halo  around  the  moon,  on  each  side  of  which  appeared 
two  faint  mock-moons.     It  was  a  ghostly  light,  and  the 
fresh  north  wind,  coming  up  the  Nile,  rustled  solemnly  in 


270  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

the  palm-trees.  We  trotted  silently  to  Karnak,  and  leaped 
our  horses  over  the  fragments  until  we  reached  the  foot  of 
the  first  obelisk.  Here  we  dismounted  and  entered  the 
grand  hall  of  pillars. 

9.  There  was  no  sound  in  all  the  temple,  and  the  guide, 
who  seemed  to  comprehend  my  wish,  moved  behind  me  as 
softly  as  a  shadow,  and  spoke  not  a  word.  It  needs  this 
illumination  to  comprehend  Karnak.  The  unsightly  rub- 
bish has  disappeared  ;  the  rents  in  the  roof  are  atoned  for 
by  the  moonlight  they  admit ;  the  fragments  shivered  from 
the  lips  of  the  mighty  capitals  are  only  the  crumpled  edges 
of  the  flower ;  a  maze  of  shadows  hides  the  desolation  of 
the  courts,  but  every  pillar  and  obelisk,  pylon  and  propylon, 
is  glorified  by  the  moonlight.  The  soul  of  Karnak  is 
soothed  and  tranquillized.  Its  halls  look  upon  you  no 
longer  with  an  aspect  of  pain  and  humiliation.  Every 
stone  seems  to  say  :  "I  am  not  fallen,  for  I  have  defied  the 
ages.  I  am  a  part  of  that,  grandeur  which  has  never  seen 
its  peer,  and  I  shall  endure  for  ever,  for  the  world  has  need 
of  me." 

Bayard  Taylor. 


THE    ROCK    CITY   OF    PETRA. 

1.  PETRA,  the  excavated  city,  the  long-lost  capital  of 
Edom,  in  the  Scriptures  and  profane  writings,  in  every 
language  in  which  its  name  occurs,  signifies  a  rock ;  and, 
through  the  shadows  of  its  early  history,  we  learn  that  its 
inhabitants  lived  in  natural  clefts  or  excavations  made  in 
the  solid  rock. 

2.  And  this  was  the  city  at  whose  door  I  now  stood. 
In  a  few  words,  this  ancient  and  extraordinary  city  is  situ- 
ated within  a  natural  amphitheatre  of  two  or  three  miles  in 
circumference,  encompassed  on  all  sides  by  rugged  mount- 
ains, five  or  six  hundred  feet  in  height.     The  whole  of  this 


RUINS  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES.  271 

area  is  now  a  waste  of  ruins,  dwelling-houses,  palaces,  tem- 
ples, and  triumphal  arches,  all  prostrate  together  in  undis- 
tinguishable  confusion.  The  sides  of  the  mountain  are  cut 
smooth  in  a  perpendicular  direction,  and  filled  with  long 
and  continued  ranges  of  dwelling-houses,  temples,  and 
tombs,  excavated  with  vast  labor  out  of  the  solid  rock  ;  and, 
while  their  summits  present  Nature  in  her  wildest  and  most 
savage  form,  their  bases  are  adorned  with  all  the  beauty  of 
architecture  and  art,  with  columns,  and  porticoes,  and  pedi- 
ments, and  ranges  of  corridors,  enduring  as  the  mountains 
out  of  which  they  are  hewn,  and  fresh  as  if  the  work  of  a 
generation  scarcely  yet  gone  by. 

3.  Nothing  can  be  finer  than  the  immense  rocky  ram- 
part which  incloses  the  city.     Strong,  firm,  and  immovable 
as  Nature  itself,  it  seems  to  deride  the  walls  of  cities  and 
the   puny  fortifications   of   skillful   engineers.     The   only 
access  is  by  clambering  over  this  wall  of  stones,  practicable 
only  in  one  place,  or  by  one  entrance,  the  most  extraor- 
dinary that  Nature,  in  her  wildest  freaks,  has  ever  framed. 
The  loftiest  portals  ever  raised  by  the  hands  of  man,  the 
proudest  monuments  of  architectural  skill  and  daring,  sink 
into  insignificance  by  the  comparison.     It  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  wonderful  object  in  the  world,  except  the  ruins  of 
the  city  to  which  it  forms  the  entrance. 

4.  For  about  two  miles  this  passage  lies  between  high 
and  precipitous  ranges  of  rocks,  from  five  hundred  to  a 
thousand  feet  in  height,  standing  as  if  torn  asunder  by 
some  great  convulsion,  and  barely  wide  enough  for  two 
horsemen  to  pass  abreast.     A  swelling  stream  rushes  be- 
tween them ;  the  summits  are  wild  and  broken  ;  in  some 
places  overhanging  the  opposite  sides,  casting  the  darkness 
of  night  upon  the  narrow  defile  ;  then  receding  and  form- 
ing an  opening  above,  through  which  a  strong  ray  of  light 
is  thrown  down,  and  illuminates  with  the  blaze  of  day  the 
frightful  chasm  below. 


272  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

5.  Wild  fig-trees,  oleanders,  and  ivy  were  growing  out 
of  the  rocky  sides  of  the  cliffs  hundreds  of  feet  above  our 
heads  ;  the  eagle  was  screaming  above  us ;  all  along  were 
the  open  doors  of  the  tombs,  forming  the  great  Necropolis 
of  the  city  ;  and  at  the  extreme  end  was  a  large  open  space, 
with  a  powerful  body  of  light  thrown  down  upon  it,  and 
exhibiting  in  one  full  view  the  faqade  of  a  beautiful  temple, 
hewn  out  of  the  rock,  with  rows  of  Corinthian  columns  and 
ornaments  standing  out  fresh  and  clear,  as  if  but  yesterday 
from  the  hands  of  the  sculptor.     Though  coming  directly 
from  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  where  the  preservation  of  the 
temples  excites  the  admiration  and  astonishment  of  every 
traveler,  we  were  roused  and  excited  by  the  extraordinary 
beauty  and  excellent  condition  of  the  great  temple  at 
Petra. 

6.  The  whole  temple,  its  columns,  ornaments,  porticoes, 
and  porches  are  cut  out  from  and  form  part  of  the  solid 
rock  ;  and  this  rock,  at  the  foot  of  which  the  temple  stands 
like  a  mere  point,  towers  several  hundred  feet  above,  its 
face  cut  smooth  to  the  very  summit,  and  the  top  remaining 
wild  and  misshapen  as  Nature  made  it.     The  whole  area 
before  the  temple  is  perhaps  an  acre  in  extent,  inclosed  on 
all  sides  except  at  the  narrow  entrance,  and  an  opening  to 
the  left  of  the  temple,  which  leads  into  the  area  of  the  city 
by  a  pass  through  perpendicular  rocks  five  or  six  hundred 
feet  in  height. 

7.  Leaving  the  temple  and  the  open  area  on  which  it 
fronts,  and  following  the  stream,  we  entered  another  defile 
much  broader  than  the  first,  on  each  side  of  which  were 
ranges  of  tombs,  with  sculptured  doors  and  columns  ;  and 
on  the  left,  in  the  bosom  of  the  mountain,  hewn  out  of  the 
solid  rock,  is  a  theatre,  circular  in  form,  the  pillars  in  front 
fallen,  and  containing  thirty-three  rows  of  seats,  capable  of 
containing  more  than  three  thousand  persons.     Above  the 
corridor  was  a  range  of  doors  opening  to  chambers  in  the 


RUINS  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES.  273 

rocks,  the  seats  of  princes  and  the  wealthiest  inhabitants 
of  Petra,  and  not  unlike  a  row  of  private  boxes  in  a  mod- 
ern theatre. 

8.  The  whole  theatre  is  at  this  day  in  such  a  state  of 
preservation  that,  if  the  tenants  of  the  tombs  around  could 
once  more  rise  into  life,  they  might  take  their  own  places 
on  its  seats,  and  listen  to  the  declamation  of  their  favorite 
player.     To  me  the  stillness  of  a  ruined  city  is  nowhere  so 
impressive  as  when  sitting  on  the  steps  of  its  theatre,  once 
thronged  with  the  gay  and  pleasure-seeking,  but  now  given 
up  to  solitude  and  desolation.     Day  after  day  these  seats 
had  been  filled,  and  the  now  silent  rocks  had  echoed  to  the 
applauding  shout  of  thousands,  and  little  could  an  ancient 
Edomite  imagine  that  a  solitary  stranger,  from  a  then  un- 
known world,  would  one  day  be  wandering  among  the  ruins 
of  his  proud  and  wonderful  city,  meditating  upon  the  fate 
of  a  race  that  has  for  ages  passed  away. 

9.  Where  are  ye,  inhabitants  of  this  desolate  city  ?  ye 
who  once  sat  on  the  seats  of  this  theatre — the  young,  the 
high-born,  the  beautiful,  and  the  brave  ;  who  once  rejoiced 
in  your  riches  and  power,  and  lived  as  if  there  was  no 
grave  ?    Where  are  ye  now  ?    Even  the  very  tombs,  whose 
open  doors  are  stretching  away  in  long  ranges  before  the 
eyes  of  the  wondering  traveler,  can  not  reveal  the  mystery 
of  your  doom ;  your  dry  bones  are  gone ;  the  robber  has 
invaded  your  graves,  and  your  very  ashes  have  been  swept 
away  to  make  room  for  the  wandering  Arab  of  the  desert. 

John  L.  Stephens. 


PART  XVIII. 
REMARKABLE  MODERN  WORKS. 


THE    DIKES   OF    HOLLAND. 

1.  ALONG  the  greater  length  of  the  western  coast  of 
Holland  a  line  of  low  sand-hills  serves  to  partially  separate 
the  main  sea  from   the  Hollow-land,  which  is  somewhat 
lower  in  surface  ;  and  wherever  that  line  of  hills  subsides, 
then  the  work  of  the  dike-builders  continues  the  separation 
which  the  natural  wall  only  half  accomplished.     Vast  lines 
of  earth-banks,  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  in  height,  and 
from  twenty  to  a  hundred  feet  in  thickness,  generally  faced 
on  the  sea-side  with  massive  walls  of  brick  and  stone,  have 
been  raked  together  and  maintained  at  an  incomparable 
cost  of  labor  and  watchfulness. 

2.  Huge  dams  have  been  swung  across  the  mouths  of 
rivers  to  govern  the  level  of  their  variable  waters  ;  and  from 
those  dams,  which  are   often  the  nuclei  of  great  cities, 
more  lines  of  earth  walls,  of  all  heights  below  a  hundred 
feet,  and  of  all  widths  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  stretch 
away  along  up  each  bank  of  each  river,  creek,  and  bayou, 
and  shut  them  into  bounds ;  give  docks  and  ways  to  ship- 
ping, roads  and  canals  to  travelers,  forts  of  defense  to  cities  ; 
give  broad  fertile  plains  to  agricultural  people  ;  give  fruit- 
ful, happy  homes  to  three  millions  of  intelligent  Hollow- 
landers. 


REMARKABLE  MODERN  WORKS.  275 

3.  Centuries  of  unremitting  care  have  hardened  these 
main  dikes  into  the  most  substantial  parts  of  the  country  ; 
but  where  it  is  all  so  spongy,  and  so  constantly  drenched  by 
a  moist  climate,  they  will  never  acquire  that  solidity  which 
will  leave  them  above  the  need  of  attention. 

4.  The  oldest   and  firmest  of  the  great  lines  of  dikes 
must  still  maintain  great  piles  of  willow  boughs  ready  for 
instant  application  to  any  opening  crevasse  ;  and  must  still 
maintain  watchmen — watchmen  who  can  not  at  all  times 
echo  the  salutation  that  one  receives  of  the  country,  nor 
the  cry  which  one  still  hears  from  the  night  patrol  of  the 
old  Dutch  cities,  "  All's  well."     A  sudden  rush  of  wind  pil- 
ing the  waters  to  an  extraordinary  height  over  some  low  or 
softened  portion  of  the  separating  wall  startles  a  whole 
country  from  its  quiet. 

5.  As  in  Constantinople  the  first  alarm  of  fire  calls  the 
water-carriers  and  spare  police,  the  second  the  proprietors 
and  officers  of  State,  and  the  third  the  Sultan  himself  to 
the  scene  of  disaster,  so  in  Holland  continued  rush  of  water 
admits  of  no  idle  spectators,  but  calls  every  hand  capable  of 
wielding  a  spade  or  bearing  a  bundle  of  rushes  to  aid  in 
preventing  devastation  worse  than   conflagration.     Some- 
times the  sea  has  proved  ungovernable  in  its  caprice,  has 
swept  over  and  retained  what  was  before  inhabited  country. 

6.  Fifteen  years  ago,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  prov- 
ince of  North  Holland,  there  were  forty-five  thousand  acres 
of  first-rate  mud  aching  to  be  turned  into  Dutch  cheeses  for 
foreign  markets,  but  which  were  smothered  out  of  useful 
existence  by  just  as  many  acres  of  brackish  water  twelve 
feet  deep.     About  the  same  time  there  were  divers  Dutch 
fingers  itching  to  feel  of  the  guilders  that  forty-five  thou- 
sand acres  of  rich  meadows  and  pastures  would  produce  ; 
and  fifteen  years  ago  government  set  about  relieving  that 
aching  and  itching. 

7.  There  was  a  broad,  high  dike  around  it  to  keep  this 

19 


276  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

Haarlemmer-Meer  in  position,  which  was  kept  up  by  certain 
companies  who  hold  certain  chartered  privileges  for  drain- 
ing the  lands  of  the  surrounding  country  and  exacting  pay 
for  the  same.  Even  the  government  might  not  interfere 
with  the  privileges  of  these  companies,  and  they  objected 
to  any  movement  of  the  waters  of  the  lake  which  might 
prove  detrimental  to  their  interests. 

8.  The  government  first  erected  three  steam  mills  for 
the  Rhinelanders'  use  ;  thus  removing  the  first  obstacle  to 
the  drying  up  of  Haarlem  Lake.     The  first  mill  was  built 
at  Spaarndam,  and  lifted  water  out  of  canals  that  came 
down  by  the  sides  of  the  lake,  into  the  Y  Zee,  a  height  of 
three  feet,  at  the  rate  of  sixteen  thousand  cubic  yards  a 
minute,  and  commenced  the  removal  of  a  sheet  of  water 
sixteen  miles  long,  eight  miles  wide,  and  twelve  feet  deep. 

9.  The  next  operations  were  to  open  and  securely  dike 
a  canal  a  hundred  feet  wide  all  around  outside  of  the  lake 
dike,  to  connect  the  canal  with  the  smaller  canals,  into 
which  350  windmills  lifted  water  from  the  different  levels 
around  the  lake,  and  to  connect  it  with  the  sluices  that  let 
the  Y  Zee  into  the  Holland  Yssel,  a  bayou  of  the  Rhine. 
They  next  set  at  work,  at  different  points  on  the  margin  of 
the  lake,  three  steam  mills  of  500  horse-power  each,  that 
work  twenty-eight  pumps,  lifting  altogether  56,000  gallons 
at  a  stroke,  or  336,000  gallons  a  minute,  fifteen  feet  high  ; 
and  Haarlemmer-Meer  began  to  change  to  Haarlemmer- 

•Meer  Polder. 

10.  As  the  dry  land  began  to  appear,  the  huge  stacks  of 
willow  boughs  bound  in  bundles,  that  had  been  gathered 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  began  to  be  laid  in  long  rows 
up  through  the  middle,  and  the  mud  was  scooped  up  and 
thrown  over  and  between  these  rows  to  form  banks  for 
canals  and  to  lay  roads  upon.     After  a  layer  of  mud  came 
another  layer   of   willow  boughs,  then   another   layer   of 
mud,  and  so  on  ;  and  after  the  banks  had  hardened  suffi- 


REMARKABLE  MODERN   WORKS.  277 

/ 

ciently  to  retain  it,  came  gravel  from  the  German  rivers  to 
spread  over  them,  till  fifty  miles  of  broad,  deep  canal,  and 
a  hundred  miles  of  passable  roads,  separated  Haarlem  Lake 
Polder  into  a  dozen  grand  divisions  ;  then  those  dozen  di- 
visions were  subdivided  by  such  smaller  canals  in  different 
directions  as  the  levels  seemed  to  demand,  and  Haarlem 
Lake  was  ready  for  sale. 


THE   TAJ    MAHAL  AT   AGRA. 

1.  THE  history  and  associations  of  the  Taj  Mahal  are 
entirely  poetic .     It  is  a  work  inspired  by  Love,  and  conse- 
crated to  Beauty.     Shah- Jehan,  the  "Selim"  of  Moore's 
poem,  erected  it  as  a  mausoleum  over  his  queen,  Noor- Jehan 
— "  the  Light  of  the  World  " — whom  the  same  poet  calls 
Noor-Mahal,  "  the  Light  of  the  Harem,"  or  more  properly, 
"Palace."     She  is  reputed  to  have  been  a  woman  of  sur- 
passing beauty,  and  of  great  wit  and  intelligence.     Shah- 
Jehan  was  inconsolable  for  her  loss,  and  has  immortalized 
her  memory  in  a  poem,  the  tablets  of  which  are  marble,  and 
the  letters  jewels.     Few  persons,  of  the  thousands  who  sigh 
over  the  pages  of  "  Lalla  Rookh,"  are  aware  that  the  "  Light 
of  the  Harem  "  was  a  real  personage,  and  that  her  tomb  is 
one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world. 

2.  The  Taj  is  built  on  the  bank  of  the  Jumna,  rather 
more  than  a  mile  to  the  eastward  of  the  Fort  of  Agra.     It 
is  approached  by  a  handsome  road,  cut  through  the  mounds 
left  by  the  ruins  of  ancient  palaces.     The  entrance  is  a  su- 
perb gateway  of  sandstone,  inlaid  with  ornaments  and  in- 
scriptions from  the  Koran,  in  white  marble.     Outside  of 
this  grand  portal,  however,  is  a  spacious  quadrangle  of  solid 
masonry,  with  an  elegant  structure  intended  as  a  caravan- 
sary, on  the  opposite  side.     Whatever  may  be  the  visitor's 


278  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

impatience,  he  can  not  help  pausing  to  notice  the  fine  pro- 
portions of  these  structures,  and  the  rich  and  massive  style 
of  their  architecture. 

3.  Passing  under  the  open  demi-vault,  whose  arch  hangs 
high  above  you,  an  avenue  of  dark  Italian  cypresses  appears 
before  you.  Down  its  center  sparkles  a  long  row  of  fount- 


Mahal. 


ains,  each  casting  up  a  single  slender  jet.  On  both  sides, 
the  palm,  the  banyan,  and  the  feathery  bamboo  mingle 
their  foliage  ;  the  song  of  birds  meets  your  ear,  and  the 
odor  of  roses  and  lemon-flowers  sweetens  the  air.  Down 
such  a  vista,  and  over  such  a  foreground,  rises  the  Taj. 


REMARKABLE  MODERN  WORKS.  279 

4.  It  is  an  octagonal  building,  or  rather  a  square  with 
the  corners  truncated,  and  each  side  precisely  similar.     It 
stands  upon  a  lofty  platform,  or  pedestal,  with  a  minaret 
at  each  corner,  and  this,  again,  is  lifted  on  a  vast  terrace 
of  solid  masonry.     An  Oriental  dome,  swelling  out  boldly 
from  the  base  into  nearly  two  thirds  of  a  sphere,  and  taper- 
ing at  the  top  into  a  crescent-tipped  spire,  crowns  the  edi- 
fice, rising  from  its  center,  with  four  similar,  though  much 
smaller  domes,  at  the  corners. 

5.  On  each  side  there  is  a  grand  entrance,  formed  by 
a  single  pointed  arch,  rising  nearly  to  the  cornice,  and  two 
smaller  arches  (one  placed  above  the  other)  on  either  hand. 
The  height  of  the  building,  from  its  base  to  the  top  of  the 
dome,  is  two  hundred  and  sixty-two  feet,  and  of  the  mina- 
rets about  two  hundred  feet.     But  no  words  can  convey  an 
idea  of  the  exquisite  harmony  of  the  different  parts,  and 
the  grand  and  glorious  effect  of  the  whole  structure,  with 
its  attendant  minarets. 

6.  The  material  is  of  the  purest  white  marble,   little 
inferior  to  that  of  Carrara.     It  shines  so  dazzlingly  in  the 
sun  that  you  can  scarcely  look  at  it  near  at  hand,  except 
in  the  morning  and  evening.     Every  part — even  the  base- 
ment, the  dome,  and  the  upper  galleries  of  the  minarets — 
is  inlaid  with  ornamental  designs  in  marble  of  different 
colors,  principally  a  pale  brown  and  a  bluish  violet  variety. 
Great  as  are  the  dimensions  of  the  Taj,  it  is  as  laboriously 
finished  as  one  of  those  Chinese  caskets  of  ivory  and  ebony 
which  are  now  so  common  in  Europe. 

7.  Around  all  the  arches  of  the  portals  and  the  windows 
— around  the  cornice  and  the  domes— on  the  walls  and  in 
the  passages,  are  inlaid  chapters  of  the  Koran,  the  letters 
being  exquisitely  formed  of  black  marble.     It  is  asserted 
that  the  whole  of  the  Koran  is  thus  inlaid  in  the  Taj,  and 
I  can  readily  believe  it  to  be  true.     The  building  is  per- 
fect in  every  part.     Any  dilapidations   it  may  have  suf- 


280  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

fered  are  so  well  restored  that  all  traces  of  them  have  dis- 
appeared. 

8.  I  ascended  to  the  base  of  the  building — a  gleaming 
marble  platform,  almost  on  a  level  with  the  tops  of  the 
trees  in  the  garden.     Before  entering  the  central  hall,  I 
descended  to  the  vault  where  the  beautiful  Noor-Jehan  is 
buried.     A  sloping  passage,  the  walls  and  floor  of  which 
have  been  so  polished  by  the  hands  and  feet  of  thousands 
that  you  must  walk  carefully  to  avoid  sliding  down,  con- 
ducts to  a  spacious  vaulted  chamber. 

9.  There  is  no  light  but  what  enters  the  door,  and  this 
falls  directly  upon  the  tomb  of  the  Queen  in  the  center. 
Shah-Jehan,  whose  ashes  are  covered  by  a  simpler  ceno- 
taph, raised  somewhat  above  hers,  sleeps  by  her  side.     The 
vault  was  filled  with  the  odors  of  rose,  jasmine,  and  sandal- 
wood,  the  precious  attars  of  which  are  sprinkled  upon  the 
tomb.     Wreaths  of  beautiful  flowers  lay  upon  it,  or  with- 
ered around  its  base. 

10.  These  were  the  true  tombs,  the  monuments  for  dis- 
play being  placed  in  the  grand  hall  above,  which  is  a  lofty 
rotunda,  lighted  both  from  above  and  below  by  screens  of 
marble,  wrought  in  filigree.     It  is  paved  with  blocks  of 
white  marble  and  jasper,  and  ornamented  with  a  wainscot- 
ing of  sculptured  tablets,  representing  flowers.     The  tombs 
are  sarcophagi  of  the  purest  marble,  exquisitely  inlaid  with 
blood-stone,  agate,  carnelian,  lapis  lazuli,  and  other  precious 
stones,  and  surrounded  with  an  octagonal  screen  six  feet 
high,  in  the  open  tracery  of  which  lilies,  irises,  and  other 
flowers  are   interwrought   with   the   most   intricate   orna- 
mental designs.     This  is  also  of  marble,  covered  with  pre- 
cious stones. 

11.  The  dome  of  the  Taj  contains  an  echo  more  sweet, 
pure,  and  prolonged  than  that  in  the  Baptistry  of  Pisa, 
which  is  the  finest  in  Europe.     A   single  musical  tone, 
uttered  by  the  voice,  floats  and  soars  overhead,  in  a  long, 


REMARKABLE  MODERN    WORKS.  281 

delicious  undulation,  fainting  away  so  slowly  that  you  hear 
it  after  it  is  silent,  as  you  see,  or  seem  to  see,  a  lark  you 
have  been  watching,  after  it  is  swallowed  up  in  the  blue  of 
heaven.  I  pictured  to  myself  the  effect  of  an  Arabic  or 
Persian  lament  for  the  lovely  Noor-Jehan,  sung  over  her 
tomb.  The  responses  that  would  come  from  above  in  the 
pauses  of  the  song  must  resemble  the  harmonies  of  angels 
in  Paradise. 

12.  The  hall,  notwithstanding  the  precious  materials  of 
which  it  is  built  and  the  elaborate  finish  of  its  ornaments, 
has  a  grave  and  solemn  effect,  infusing  a  peaceful  serenity 
of  mind,   such   as  we  feel  when  contemplating  a  happy 
death.     Stern,  unimaginative  persons  have  been  known  to 
burst   suddenly   into  tears   on   entering  it,    and   whoever 
can  behold  the  Taj  without  feeling  a  thrill  that  sends  the 
moisture  to  his  eye,  has  no  sense  of  beauty  in  his  soul. 

13.  The  Taj  truly  is,  as  I  have  already  said,  a  poem. 
It  is  not  only  a  pure  architectural  type,  but  also  a  creation 
which  satisfies  the  imagination,  because  its  characteristic  is 
Beauty.     Did  you  ever  build  a  Castle  in  the  Air  ?    Here  is 
one,  brought  down  to  earth,  and  fixed  for  the  wonder  of 
ages  ;  yet  so  light  it  seems,  so  airy,  and,  when  seen  from  a 
distance,  so  like  a  fabric  of  mist  and  sunbeams,  with  its 
great  dome  soaring  up,  a  silvery  bubble  about  to  burst  in 
the  sun,  that,  even  after  you  have  touched  it,  and  climbed 
to  its  summit,   you   almost  doubt  its   reality.     The   four 
minarets  which  surround  it  are  perfect ;  no  other  epithet 
will  describe  them.     You  can  not  conceive  of  their  pro- 
portions being  changed  in  any  way  without  damage  to  the 
general  effect. 

14.  On  one  side  of  the  Taj  is  a   mosque  with  three 
domes,   of  red  sandstone,    covered   with  mosaic  of  white 
marble.     Now,   on  the  opposite  side,  there  is  a  building 
precisely  similar,  but  of  no  use  whatever,  except  as  a  bal- 
ance to  the  mosque,  lest  the  perfect  symmetry  of  the  whole 


282  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

design  should  be  spoiled.  This  building  is  called  the  jowab. 
or  "answer."  Nothing  can  better  illustrate  the  feeling  for 
proportion  which  prevailed  in  those  days — and  proportion 
is  Art. 

Bayard  Taylor. 


THE    SLIDE   AT   ALPNACH. 

1.  AMONG  the  forests  which  flank  many  of  the  lofty 
mountains  of  Switzerland,   some  of  the  finest  timber  is 
found  in  positions   almost   inaccessible.     The   expense  of 
roads,  even  if  it  were  possible  to  make  them  in  such  situa- 
tions, would  prevent  the  inhabitants  from  deriving  any  ad- 
vantages from  these  almost  inexhaustible  supplies.     Placed 
by  nature  at  a  considerable  elevation  above  the  spot  on 
which  they  are  required,  they  are  precisely  in  fit  circum- 
stances for  the  application  of  machinery  ;  and  the  inhabit- 
ants constantly  avail  themselves  of  it,  to  enable  the  force 
of  gravity  to  relieve  them  of  some  portion  of  their  labor. 

2.  The  inclined  planes  which  they  have  established  in 
various  forests,  by  which  the  timber  has  been  sent  down  to 
the  water-courses,  must  have  excited  the  admiration  of  every 
traveler  ;  and  these  slides,  in  addition  to  the  merit  of  sim- 
plicity, have  that  of  economy,  as  their  construction  requires 
scarcely  anything  beyond  the  material  which  grows  upon 
the  spot.     Of  all  these  specimens  of  carpentry,  the  Slide  of 
Alpnach  was  by  far  the  most  considerable,  both  from  its 
great  length,  and  from  the  almost  inaccessible  position  from 
which  it  descended. 

3.  The  Slide  of  Alpnach  is  formed  entirely  of  about 
twenty-five  thousand  large  pine-trees,   deprived   of   their 
bark,   and  united  together  in  a  very  ingenious  manner, 
without  the  aid  of  iron.    It  is  about  three  leagues,  or  forty- 
four  thousand  English  feet  long,  and  terminates  in  the  lake 


REMARKABLE  MODERN   WORKS.  283 

of  Lucerne.  It  has  the  form  of  a  trough,  about  six  feet 
broad,  and  from  three  to  six  feet  deep.  Its  bottom  is 
formed  of  three  trees,  the  middle  one  of  which  has  a  groove 
cut  out  in  the  direction  of  its  length,  for  receiving  small 
rills  of  water,  which  are  conducted  into  it  from  various 
places,  for  the  purpose  of  diminishing  the  friction.  The 
whole  of  the  slide  is  sustained  by  about  two  thousand  sup- 
ports ;  and  in  many  places  it  is  attached,  in  a  very  ingeni- 
ous manner,  to  the  rugged  precipices  of  granite. 

4.  The  direction  of  the  slide  is  sometimes  straight,  and 
sometimes  zigzag,  with  an  inclination  of  from  10°  to  18°. 
It  is  often  carried  along  the  sides  of  hills  and  the  flanks  of 
precipitous  rocks,  and  sometimes  passes  over  their  summits. 
Occasionally  it  goes  underground,  and  at  other  times  it  is 
conducted  over  the  deep  gorges  by  scaffoldings  one  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  in  height. 

5.  The  boldness  which  characterizes  this  work,  the  sa- 
gacity displayed  in  all  its  arrangements,  and  the  skill  of 
the  engineer,  have  excited  the  wonder  of  every  person  who 
has  seen  it.     Before  any  step  could  be  taken  in  its  erection, 
it  was  necessary  to  cut  several  thousand  trees  to  obtain  a 
passage  through   the  impenetrable  thickets  ;   and,   as  the 
workmen  advanced,  men  were  posted  at  certain  distances  to 
point  out  the  road  for  their  return,  and  to  discover,  in  the 
gorges,  the  places  where  the  piles  jof  wood  had  been  estab- 
lished. 

6.  M.  Rupp,  the  engineer,  was  himself  obliged,  more 
than  once,  to  be  suspended  by  cords,  in  order  to  descend 
precipices   many   hundred   feet   high  ;    and,    in   the   first 
months  of  the  undertaking,  he  was  attacked  with  a  violent 
fever,  which  deprived  him  of  the  power  of  superintending 
his  workmen.     Nothing,  however,  could  diminish  his  in- 
vincible perseverance.     He  was  carried  every  day  to  the 
mountain  in  a  barrow,  to  direct  the  labors  of  the  workmen, 
which  was  absolutely  necessary,  as  he  had  scarcely  two  good 


284  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

carpenters  among  them  all ;  the  rest  having  been  hired  by 
accident,  without  any  knowledge  which  such  an  undertak- 
ing required.  M.  Rupp  had  also  to  contend  against  the 
prejudices  of  the  peasantry.  He  was  supposed  to  have  com- 
munion with  the  devil.  He  was  charged  with  heresy,  and 
every  obstacle  was  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  enterprise, 
which  they  regarded  as  absurd  and  impracticable.  All 
these  difficulties,  however,  were  surmounted,  and  he  had  at 
last  the  satisfaction  of  observing  the  trees  descend  from  the 
mountain  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning. 

7.  The  larger  pines,  which  were  about  a  hundred  feet 
long,  and  ten  inches  thick  at  their  smaller  extremity,  ran 
through  the  space  of  three  leagues,  or  nearly  nine  miles,  in 
two  minutes  and  a  half,  and  during  their  descent  they  ap- 
peared to  be  only  a  few  feet  in  length.     The  arrangements 
for  this  part  of  the  operation  were  extremely  simple.     From 
the  lower  end  of  the  slide  to  the  upper  end,  where  the  trees 
were  introduced,  workmen  were  posted  at  regular  distances, 
and,  as  soon  as  everything  was  ready,  the  workmen  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  slide  cried  out  to  the  one  above  him, 
"Lachez"  (Let  go).     The  cry  was  repeated  from  one  to 
another,  and  reached  the  top  of  the  slide  in  three  minutes. 

8.  The  workman  at  the  top  of  the  slide  then  cried  out 
to  the  one  below  him,  "II  vient"  (It  comes),  and  the  tree 
was  immediately  launched  down  the  slide,  preceded  by  the 
cry,  which  was  repeated  from  post  to  post.     As  soon  as  the 
tree  had  reached  the  bottom,  and  plunged  into  the  lake, 
the  cry  of  "  Lachez  "  was  repeated  as  before,  and  a  new  tree 
was  launched  in  a  similar  manner.     By  these  means  a  tree 
descended  every  five  or  six  minutes,  provided  no  accident 
happened  to  the  slide,  which  sometimes  took  place,  but 
which  was  instantly  repaired  when  it  did. 

9.  In  order  to  show  the  enormous  force  which  the  trees 
acquired  from  the  great  velocity  of  their  descent,  M.  Rupp 
made  arrangements  for  causing  some  of  the  trees  to  spring 


REMARKABLE  MODERN  WORKS.  285 

from  the  slide.  They  penetrated,  by  their  thickest  ex- 
tremities, no  less  than  from  eighteen  to  twenty-four  feet 
into  the  earth ;  and  one  of  the  trees  having  by  accident 
struck  against  the  other,  it  instantly  cleft  it  through  its 
whole  length,  as  if  it  had  been  struck  by  lightning. 


ICE-HILLS    IN    RUSSIA. 

1.  THE  most  striking  winter  spectacle  of  St.  Petersburg 
to  a  foreigner  is  that  of  the  ice-mountains ;  the  great  Place 
of  Admiralty  is  given  up  to  the  popular  celebrations,  and 
filled   with  refreshment   booths,   swings,   and   slides.     To 
form  these  ice-mountains,  a  narrow  scaffold  is  raised  to  the 
height  of  some  thirty  or  forty  feet.     This  scaffold  has  on 
one  side  steps  for  the  purpose  of  ascending  it ;  on  the  other 
it  slopes  off,  steeply  at  first,  and  then  more  gradually,  until 
it  finally  terminates   on   a  level.     Upon   this   long   slope 
blocks  of  ice  are  laid,  over  which  water  is  poured,  which, 
by  freezing,  unites  the  blocks  and  furnishes  a  uniform  sur- 
face, .down  which  the  merry  crowd  slide  upon  sledges,  or 
more  frequently  upon  blocks  of  smooth  ice  cut  into  appro- 
priate form. 

2.  Two  of  these  mountains  usually  stand  opposite  and 
fronting  each  other,  their  tracks  lying  close  together,  side 
by  side. 

3.  This  is  a  national  amusement  all  over  Russia.     Ice- 
mountains  are  raised  in  the  court-yards  of  all  the  chief 
residents  in  the  capital.     And  an  imitation  of  them,  for 
summer  use,  covered  with  some  kind  of  polished  wood, 
instead  of  ice,  is  often  found  in  the  walls  of  private  dwell- 
ings.    In  the  Imperial  Palace  is  such  a  slide  built  of  ma- 
hogany. 


286  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

4.  Formerly  the  swings,  ice-mountains,  and  temporary 
theatres  were  erected  upon  the  frozen  plain  of  the  Neva. 
But  some  years  since  the  ice  gave  way  under  the  immense 
pressure,  and  a  large  number  of  the  revelers  were  drowned. 
Since  that  time  the  great  square  of  the  Admiralty  has  been 
devoted  to  this  purpose.     For  days  previous,  long  trains  of 
sledges  are  seen  thronging  to  the  spot,  bearing  timbers, 
poles,  planks,  huge  blocks  of  ice,  and  all  the  materials 
necessary  for  the  erection  of  booths,  theatres,  swings,  and 
slides.     These  temporary  structures  are  easily  and  speedily 
reared.     A  hole  is  dug  in  the  frozen  ground,  into  which 
the  end  of  a  post  is  placed.     It  is  then  filled  with  water, 
which,  under  the  influence  of  a  Russian  February,  binds  it 
in  its  place  as  firmly  as  though  it  were  leaded  into  a  solid 
rock. 

5.  The  carnival  commences  on  the  first  Sunday  of  the 
Butter  week,  and  all  St.  Petersburg  gives  itself  up  to  sliding 
and  swinging,  or  to  watching  the  sliding  and  swinging  of 
others.     By  a  wise  regulation,  eating  and  drinking  shops 
are  not  allowed  in  the  square,  and  the  staple  potable  and 
comestibles  are  tea,  cake,  and  nuts.     Few  more  animated 
and  stirring  sights  are  to  be  seen  than  the  Admiralty  Square 
at  noon,  when  the  mirth  is  at  the  highest  among  the  lower 
orders,  and  when  all  the  higher  classes  make  their  appear- 
ance, driving  in  regular  line  along  a  broad  space,  in  front 
of  the  booths,  reserved  for  the  equipages. 


PART  XIX. 
REMARKABLE  ANCIENT  WORKS, 


A   VISIT   TO   THE    PYRAMIDS. 

1.  THE  base  of  the  great  pyramid  is  about  eight  hun- 
dred feet  square,  covering  a  surface  of  about  eleven  acres, 
according  to  the  best  measurement,  and  four  hundred  and 
sixty-one   feet   high.     Even  as  I  walked   around  it,   and 
looked  up  at  it  from  the  base,  I  did  not  feel  its  immensity 
until  I  commenced  ascending ;  then,  having  climbed  some 
distance  up,  when  I  stopped  to  breathe,  and  looked  down 
upon  my  friend  below,  who  was  dwindled  to  insect  size,  and 
up  at  the  great  distance  between  me  and  the  summit — then 
I  realized  in  all  their  force  the  huge  dimensions  of  this 
giant  work.     It  took  me  twenty  minutes  to  mount  to  the 
summit — about  the  same  time  that  it  had  required  to  mount 
the  cones  of  Etna  and  Vesuvius. 

2.  The  ascent  is  not  particularly  difficult,  at  least  with 
the  assistance  of  the  Arabs.     There  are  two  hundred  and 
six  tiers  of  stone,  from  one  to  four  feet  in  height,  each  two 
or  three  feet  smaller  than  the  one  below,  making  what  are 
called  steps.     Indeed,  for  the  most  part  I  was  obliged  to 
climb  with  my  knees,  deriving  great  assistance  from  the 
step  which  one  Arab  made  for  me  with  his  knee,  and  the 
helping  hand  of  another  above. 

3.  No  man  can  stand  on  the  top  of  the  great  pyramid 


288  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

of  Cheops  and  look  out  upon  the  dark  mountains  of  Mokat- 
tem  bordering  the  Arabian  desert ;  upon  the  ancient  cities 
of  the  Pharaohs,  its  domes,  its  mosques,  and  minarets,  glit- 
tering in  the  light  of  a  vertical  sun  ;  upon  the  rich  valley 
of  the  Nile,  and  the  "river  of  Egypt"  rolling  at  his  feet ; 


The  Pyramids  of  Gizeh. 

the  long  range  of  pyramids  and  tombs  extending  along  the 
edge  of  the  desert  to  the  ruined  city  of  Memphis  ;  and  the 
boundless  and  eternal  sands  of  Africa,  without  considering 
that  moment  an  epoch  not  to  be  forgotten.  Thousands  of 
years  roll  through  his  mind,  and  thought  recalls  the  men 
who  built  them,  their  mysterious  uses,  the  poets,  historians, 
philosophers,  and  warriors  who  have  gazed  upon  them  with 
wonder  like  his  own. 

4.  The  descent  I  found  extremely  easy ;  many  persons 
complain  of  the  dizziness  caused  by  looking  down  from 
such  a  height,  but  I  did  not  find  myself  so  affected  ;  and, 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT   WORKS.  289 

though  the  donkeys  at  the  base  looked  like  flies,  I  could 
almost  have  danced  down  the  mighty  sides. 

5.  The  great  pyramid  is  supposed  to  contain  six  millions 
of  cubic  feet  of  stone,  and  a  hundred  thousand  men  are 
said  to  have  been  employed  twenty  years  in  building  it. 
The  four  angles  stand  exactly  in  the  four  points  of  the  com- 
pass, inducing  the  belief  that  it  was  intended  for  other  pur- 
poses than  those  of  a  sepulchre.     The  entrance  is  on  the 
north  side.     The  sands  of  the  desert  have  encroached  upon 
it,  and,  with  the  fallen  stones  and  rubbish,  have  buried  it 
to  the  sixteenth  step.     Climbing  over  this  rubbish,  the  en- 
trance is  reached  :  a  narrow  passage  three  and  a  half  feet 
square,  lined  with  broad  blocks  of  polished  granite,  descend- 
ing in  the  interior  at  an  angle  of  twenty-seven  degrees  for 
ninety-two  feet  ;  then  the  passage  turns  to  the  right,  and 
winds  upward  to  a  steep  ascent  of  eight  or  nine  feet,  and 
then  falls  into  the  natural  passage,  which  is  five  feet  high 
and  one  hundred  feet  long,  forming  a  continued  ascent  to 
a  sort  of  landing-place  ;  in  a  small  recess  of  this  is  the  ori- 
fice or  shaft  called  the  Well.     Moving  onward  through  a 
long  passage,  the  explorer   comes  to  what  is  called  the 
Queen's  Chamber,  seventeen  feet  long,  fourteen  wide,  and 
twelve  high. 

6.  I  entered  a  hole  opening  from  this  crypt,  and,  crawl- 
ing on  my  hands  and  knees,  came  to  a  large  opening,  not  a 
regular  chamber,  and  now  cumbered  with  falling  stones. 
Immediately  above  this,  ascending  by  an  inclined  plane 
lined  with  highly  polished  granite,  and  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  mounting  a  short  space  by 
means  of  holes  cut  in  the  sides,  I  entered  the  King's  Cham- 
ber, thirty-seven  feet  long,  seventeen  feet  wide,  and  twenty 
feet  high.     The  walls  of  the  chambers  are  of  red  granite, 
highly  polished,  each  stone  reaching  from  the  floor  to  the 
ceiling  ;  and  the  ceiling  is  formed  of  nine  large  slabs  of  pol- 
ished granite,  extending  from  wall  to  wall. 


290  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

7.  At  one  end  of  the  chamber  stands  a  sarcophagus,  also 
of  red  granite  ;  its  length  is  seven  feet  six  inches,  depth 
three  and  a  half,  breadth  three  feet  three  inches.     Here  is 
supposed  to  have  slept  one  of  the  great  rulers  of  the  earth, 
the  king  of  the  then  greatest  kingdom  of  the  world,  the 
proud  mortal  for  whom  this  mighty  structure  was  raised. 
Where  is  he  now  ?    Even  his  dry  bones  are  gone,  torn  away 
by  rude  hands,  and  scattered  by  the  winds  of  heaven. 

8.  The  pyramids,  like  all  the  other  great  works  of  the 
ancient  Egyptians,  are  built  with  great  regard  to  accuracy 
of  proportion.     The  sepulchral  chamber  is  not  in  the  cen- 
ter, but  in  an  irregular  and  out-of-the-way  position  in  the 
vast  pile  ;  and  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  great  igno- 
rance which  must  exist  in  regard  to  the  whole  structure  and 
its  uses  from  the  fact  that  by  computation,  allowing  an 
equal  solid  bulk  for  partition  walls,  there  is  sufficient  space 
in  the  great  pyramid  for  three  thousand  seven  hundred 
chambers  as  large  as  that  containing  the  sarcophagus. 

9.  A'ext  to  the  pyramids,  probably  as  old,  and  hardly 
inferior   in  interest,  is  the  celebrated  Sphinx.     Notwith- 
standing the  great  labors  of  Coriglia,  it  is  now  so  covered 
with  sand  that  it  is  difficult  to  realize  the  bulk  of  this  gi- 
gantic monument.     Its  head,  neck,  shoulders,  and  breast 
are  still  uncovered  ;  its  face,  though  worn  and  broken,  is 
mild,  amiable,  and  intelligent,  seeming,  among  the  tombs 
around  it,  like  a  divinity  guarding  the  dead. 

John  L,  Stephens. 


EGYPTIAN    TOMBS   AND    MUMMIES. 

1.  GOURNOU  is  a  tract  of  rocks,  about  two  miles  in 
length,  at  the  foot  of  the  Libyan  Mountains,  on  the  west  of 
Thebes,  and  was  the  burial-place  of  the  great  city  of  a  hun- 
dred gates.  Every  part  of  these  rocks  is  cut  out  by  art,  in 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT   WORKS.  291 

the  form  of  large  and  small  chambers,  each  of  which  has  its 
separate  entrance  ;  and,  though  they  are  very  close  to  each 
other,  it  is  seldom  that  -there  is  any  interior  communication 
from  one  to  another.  I  can  truly  say  it  is  impossible  to 
give  any  description  sufficient  to  convey  the  smallest  idea 
of  those  subterranean  abodes  and  their  inhabitants.  There 
are  no  sepulchres  in  any  part  of  the  world  like  them  ;  there 
are  no  excavations,  or  mines,  that  can  be  compared  to  these 
truly  astonishing  places  ;  and  no  exact  description  can  be 
given  of  their  interior,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  visiting 
these  recesses.  The  inconvenience  of  entering  into  them 
is  such  that  it  is  not  every  one  who  can  support  the  exertion. 

2.  A  traveler  is  generally  satisfied  when  he  has  seen  the 
large  hall,  the  gallery,  the  staircase,  and  as  far  as  he  can 
conveniently  go  ;  besides,  he  is  taken  up  with  the  strange 
works  he  observes  cut,  in  various  places,  and  painted  on 
each  side  of  the  walls ;  so  that  when  he  comes  to  a  narrow 
and  difficult  passage,  or  a  descent  to  the  bottom  of  a  well 
or  cavity,  he  declines  taking  such  trouble,  naturally  sup- 
posing that  he  can  not  see  in  these  abysses  anything  so 
magnificent  as  what  he  sees  above,  and  consequently  deem- 
ing it  useless  to  proceed  any  farther. 

3.  Of  some  of  these  tombs  many  persons  could  not  with- 
stand the  suffocating  air,  which  often  causes  fainting.     A 
vast  quantity  of  dust  rises,  so  fine  that  it  enters  into  the 
throat  and  nostrils,  and  chokes  the  nose  and  mouth  to  such 
a  degree  that  it  requires  great  power  of  lungs  to  resist  it 
and  the  strong  effluvia  of  the  mummies.     This  is  not  all ; 
the  entry  or  passage  where  the  bodies  are  is  roughly  cut  in 
the  rocks,  and  the  falling  of  the  sand  from  the  upper  part 
or  ceiling  of  the  passage  causes  it  to  be  nearly  filled  up.     In 
some  places  there  is  not  more  than  a  vacancy  of  a  foot  left, 
which  you  must  contrive  to  pass  through  in  a  creeping  pos- 
ture like  a  snail,  on  pointed  and  keen  stones,  that  cut  like 

glass. 

20 


292  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

4.  After  getting  through  these  passages,  some  of  them 
two  or  three  hundred  yards  long,  you  generally  find  a  more 
commodious  place,  perhaps  high  enough  to  sit.     But  what 
a  place  of  rest !  surrounded  by  bodies,  by  heaps  of  'mum- 
mies in  all  directions ;  which,  previous  to  my  being  accus- 
tomed to  the  sight,  impressed  me  with  horror.     The  black- 
ness of  the  wall,  the  faint  light  given  by  the  candles  or 
torches  for  want  of  air,  the  different  objects  that  surrounded 
me,  seeming  to  converse  with  each  other,  and  the  Arabs 
with  the  candles  or  torches  in  their  hands,  naked  and  cov- 
ered with  dust,  themselves  resembling  living  mummies,  ab- 
solutely formed  a  scene  that  can  not  be  described.     In  such 
a  situation  I  found  myself  several  times,  and  often  returned 
exhausted  and  fainting,  till  at  last  I  became  inured  to  it, 
and  indifferent  to  what  I  suffered,  except  from  the  dust, 
which   never   failed   to   choke  my  throat  and   nose  ;  and 
though,  fortunately,  I  am  destitute  of  the  sense  of  smell- 
ing, I  could  taste  that  the  mummies  were  rather  unpleasant 
to  swallow. 

5.  After  the  exertion  of  entering  such  a  place,  through 
a  passage  of  fifty,  a  hundred,  three  hundred,  or  perhaps  six 
hundred  yards,  nearly  overcome,  I  sought  a  resting-place, 
found  one,  and  contrived  to  sit ;  but,  when  my  weight  bore 
on  the  body  of  an  Egyptian,  it  crushed  like  a  bandbox.     I 
naturally  had  recourse  to  my  hands  to  sustain  my  weight, 
but  they  found  no  better  support ;  so  that  I  sank  altogether 
among  the  broken  mummies,  with  a  crash  of  bones,  rags, 
and  wooden  cases,  which  raised  such  a  dust  as  kept  me  mo- 
tionless for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  waiting  till  it  subsided 
again.     I  could  not  remove  from  the  place,  however,  with- 
out increasing  it,  and  every  step  I  took  crushed  a  mummy 
in  some  part  or  other. 

6.  Once  I  was  conducted  from  such  a  place  to  another 
resembling  it,  through  a  passage  of  about  twenty  feet  in 
length,  and  no  wider  than  what  a  body  could  be  forced 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT   WORKS.  293 

through.  It  was  choked  with  mummies,  and  I  could  not 
pass  without  putting  my  face  in  contact  with  that  of  some 
decayed  Egyptian  ;  but,  as  the  passage  inclined  downward, 
my  own  weight  helped  me  on  ;  however,  I  could  not  avoid 
being  covered  with  bones,  legs,  arms,  and  heads,  rolling 
from  above.  Thus  I  proceeded  from  one  cave  to  another, 
all  full  of  mummies  piled  up  in  various  ways,  some  stand- 
ing, some  lying,  and  some  on  their  heads. 

7.  I  must  not  omit  that  among  these  tombs  we  saw 
some  which  contained  the  mummies  of  animals  intermixed 
with  human  bodies.     There  were  bulls,  cows,  sheep,  mon- 
keys, foxes,  bats,  crocodiles,  fishes,  and  birds  in  them  ;  idols 
often  occur ;  and  one  tomb  was  filled  with  nothing  but 
cats,  carefully  folded  in  red  and  white  linen,  the  head 
covered  by  a  mask  representing  the  cat,  and  made  of  the 
same  linen.     I  have  opened  all  these  sorts  of  animals.     Of 
the  bull,  the  calf,  and  the  sheep,  there  is  no  part  but  the 
head  which  is  covered  with  linen,  and  the  horns  project 
out  of  the  cloth,  the  rest  of  the  body  being  represented  by 
two  pieces  of  wood,  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  three  feet 
long,  in  an  horizontal  direction,  at  the  end  of  which  was 
another,   placed  perpendicularly,  two  feet  high,   to  form 
the  breast  of  the  animal. 

8.  The  calves  and  sheep  are  of  the  same  structure,  and 
large  in  proportion  to  the  bulls.     The  monkey  is  in  its  full 
form,  in  a  sitting  posture.     The  fox  is  squeezed  up  by  the 
bandages,  but  in  some  measure  the  shape  of  the  head  is 
kept  perfect.     The  crocodile  is  left  in  its  own  shape,  and, 
after  being   well  bound  round  with  linen,  the   eyes  and 
mouth  are  painted  on  this  covering.     The  birds  are  squeezed 
together,  and  lose  their  shape,  except  the  ibis,  which  is 
found  like  a  fowl  ready  to  be  cooked,  and  bound  round 
with  linen  like  all  the  rest. 

9.  The  dwelling-place  of  the   natives  is  generally  in 
the  passages,  between  the  first  and  second  entrance  into 


294  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

a  tomb.  The  walls  and  the  roof  are  as  black  as  any  chim- 
ney. The  inner  door  is  closed  up  with  mud,  except  a  small 
aperture  sufficient  for  a  man  to  crawl  through.  Within 
this  place  the  sheep  are  kept  at  night,  and  occasionally 
accompany  their  masters  in  their  vocal  concert.  A  small 
lamp,  kept  alive  by  fat  from  the  sheep,  or  rancid  oil,  is 
placed  in  a  niche  in  the  wall,  and  a  mat  is  spread  on  the 
ground,  and  this  formed  the  grand  divan  wherever  I  was. 

10.  When  a  young  man  wants  to  marry,  he  goes  to  the 
father  of  the  intended  bride,  and  agrees  to  pay  for  her. . 
This  being  settled,  so  much  money  is  to  be  spent  on  the 
wedding-day  feast.     To  set  up  housekeeping,  nothing  is 
requisite  but  two  or  three  earthen  pots,  a  stone  to  grind 
meal,  and  a  mat  which  is  the  bed.     The  spouse  has  a  gown 
and  jewels  of  her  own,  and  if  the  bridegroom  present  her 
with  a  pair  of  bracelets  of  silver,  ivory,   or  glass,   she  is 
happy  and  fortunate  indeed. 

11.  The  house  is  ready,  without  rent  or  taxes.    No  rain 
can  pass  through  the  roof,  and  there  is  no  door,  for  there 
is  no  want  of  one,  as  there  is  nothing  to  lose.     They  make 
a  kind  of  box  of  clay  and  straw,  which,  after  two  or  three 
days'  exposure  to  the  sun,  becomes  quite  hard.     It  is  fixed 
on  a  stand,  an  aperture  is  left  to  put  all  their  precious 
things  into  it,  and  a  piece  of  mummy-case  forms  the  door. 
If  the  house  does  not  please  them,  they  walk  out  and  enter 
another,  as  there  are  several  hundred  at  their  command  ; 
I  might  say  several  thousand,  but  they  are  not  all  fit  to 
receive  inhabitants. 

Belzoni. 


THE   TOMBS   OF  THEBES. 

1.  BEFORE  commencing  my  description  of  the  tombs, 
let  me  attempt  to  give  an  outline  of  the  topography  of 
Thebes.  The  course  of  the  Nile  is  here  nearly  north,  di- 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT  WORKS.  295 

viding  the  site  of  the  ancient  city  into  two  almost  equal 
parts.  On  approaching  it  from  Keneh,  the  mountain  of 
Gurna,  which  abuts  on  the  river,  marks  the  commence- 
ment of  the  western  division.  This  mountain,  a  range  of 
naked  limestone  crags,  terminating  in  a  pyramidal  peak, 
gradually  recedes  to  the  distance  of  three  miles  from  the 
Nile,  which  it  again  approaches  farther  south.  Nearly  the 
whole  of  the  curve,  which  might  be  called  the  western  wall 
of  the  city,  is  pierced  with  tombs,  among  which  are  those 
of  the  queens,  and  the  grand  priestly  vaults  of  the  Assas- 
seef.  The  valley  of  the  Kings'  Tombs  lies  deep  in  the  heart 
of  the  range,  seven  or  eight  miles  from  the  river. 

2.  After  passing  the  corner  of  the  mountain,  the  first 
ruin   on  the   western  bank   is   that  of   the  temple-palace 
of  Gurna.     More  than  a  mile  farther,  at  the  base  of  the 
mountain,  is  the  Memnonium,  or  temple  of  Rameses  the 
Great,  between  which  and  the  Nile  the  two  Memnonian 
colossi  are  seated  on  the  plain.     Nearly  two  miles  to  the 
south  of  this  is  the  great  temple  of  Medinet-Abu,   and 
the  fragments   of   other   edifices   are   met  with   still  far- 
ther beyond.     On  the  eastern  bank,  nearly  opposite  Gurna, 
stands  the  temple  of  Karnak,  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
river.     Eight  miles  eastward,  at  the  foot  of  the  Arabian 
mountains,  is  the  small  temple  of  Medamot,  which,  how- 
ever, does  not  appear  to  have  been  included  in  the  limits 
of  Thebes.     Luxor  is  directly  on  the  bank  of  the  Nile,  a 
mile  and  a  half  south  of  Karnak,  and  the  plain  extends 
several  miles  beyond  it  before  reaching  the  isolated  range 
whose  three  conical  peaks  are  the  landmarks  of  Thebes  to 
voyagers  on  the  river. 

3.  These  distances  convey  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  the 
ancient  city,  but  fail  to  represent  the  grand  proportions  of 
the  landscape,  so  well  fitted,  in  its  simple  and  majestic  out- 
lines, to  inclose  the  most  wonderful  structures  the  world 
has  ever  seen.     The  green  expanse  of  the  plain ;  the  airy 


296  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

coloring  of  the  mountains  ;  the  mild,  solemn  blue  of  the 
cloudless  Egyptian  sky — these  are  a  part  of  Thebes,  and 
inseparable  from  the  remembrance  of  its  ruins. 

4.  The  sand  and  pebbles  clattered  under  the  hoofs  of 
our  horses  as  we  galloped  up  the  gorge  of  the  ' '  Gates  of 
the  Kings."     The  sides  are  perpendicular  cliffs  of  yellow 
rock,  which  increased  in  height  the  farther  we  advanced, 
and  at  last  terminated  in  a  sort  of  basin,  shut  in  by  preci- 
pices several  hundred  feet  in  height  and  broken  into  fan- 
tastic turrets,  gables,  and  pinnacles.     The  bottom  is  filled 
with  huge  heaps  of  sand  and  broken  stones,  left  from  the 
excavation  of  the  tombs   in  the  solid   rock.      There   are 
twenty-one  tombs  in  this  valley,  more  than  half  of  which 
are  of  great  extent  and  richly  adorned  with  paintings  and 
sculptures.     Some  have  been  filled  with  sand  or  otherwise 
injured  by   the   occasional  rains   which   visit  this  region, 
while  a  few  are  too  small  and  plain  to  need  visiting. 

5.  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  has  numbered  them  all  in  red 
chalk  at  the  entrances,  which  is  very  convenient  to  those 
who  use  his  work  on  Egypt  as  a  guide.     I  visited  ten  of 
the  principal  tombs,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  old  guide, 
who  complained  that  travelers  are  frequently  satisfied  with 
four  or  five.     The  general  arrangement  is  the  same  in  all, 
but  they  differ  greatly  in  extent  and  in  the  character  of 
their  decoration. 

6.  The   first  we  entered  was   the  celebrated  tomb  of 
Rameses  I,  discovered  by  Belzoni.     From  the  narrow  en- 
trance, a  precipitous  staircase,  the  walls  of  which  are  cov- 
ered with  columns  of  hieroglyphics,  descends  to  a  depth  of 
forty  feet,  where  it  strikes  an  horizontal  passage  leading  to 
an  oblong  chamber,  in  which  was  formerly  a  deep  pit,  which 
Belzoni   filled.     This  pit  protected   the  entrance   to   the 
royal  chamber,  which  was  also  carefully  walled  up. 

7.  In  the  grace  and  freedom  of  the  drawings,  and  the 
richness  of  their  coloring,  this  tomb  surpasses  all  others. 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT   WORKS.  297 

The  subjects  represented  are  the  victories  of  the  monarch, 
while  in  the  sepulchral  chamber  he  is  received  into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  gods.  The  limestone  rock  is  covered  with  a 
fine  coating  of  plaster,  on  which  the  figures  were  drawn 
with  red  chalk,  and  afterward  carefully  finished  in  colors. 
The  reds,  yellows,  greens,  and  blues  are  very  brilliant,  but 
seem  to  have  been  employed  at  random,  the  gods  having  faces 
sometimes  of  one  color,  sometimes  of  another.  In  the  far- 
thest chamber,  which  was  left  unfinished,  the  subjects  are 
only  sketched  in  red  chalk.  Some  of  them  have  the  loose 
and  uncertain  lines  of  a  pupil's  hand,  over  which  one  sees 
the  bold  and  rapid  corrections  of  the  master.  Many  of  the 
figures  are  remarkable  for  their  strength  and  freedom  of 
outline.  I  was  greatly  interested  in  a  procession  of  men, 
representing  the  different  nations  of  the  earth.  The  physi- 
cal peculiarities  of  the  Persian,  the  Jew,  and  the  Ethiopian 
are  therein  as  distinctly  marked  as  at  the  present  day.  The 
blacks  are  perfect  counterparts  of  those  I  saw  daily  upon  the 
Nile,  and  the  noses  of  the  Jews  seem  newly  painted  from 
originals  in  New  York. 

8.  The  burial-vault,  where  Belzoni  found  the  alabaster 
sarcophagus  of  the  monarch,  is  a  noble  hall,  thirty  feet 
long  by  nearly  twenty  in  breadth  and  height,  with  four 
massive  pillars  forming  a  corridor  on  one  side.     In  addition 
to  the  light  of  our  torches,  the  Arabs  kindled  a  large  bon- 
fire in  the  center,  which  brought  out  in  strong  relief  the 
sepulchral  figures  on  the  ceiling,  painted  in  white  on   a 
ground  of  dark  indigo  hue.     The  pillars  and  walls  of  the 
vault  glowed  with  the  vivid  variety  of  their  colors,  and  the 
general  effect  was  unspeakably  rich  and  gorgeous. 

9.  Bruce's  tomb,  which  extends  for  four  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  into  the  rock,  is  larger  than  Belzoni's,  but  not 
so  fresh  and  brilliant.     The  main  entrance  slopes  with  a 
very  gradual  descent,  and  has  on  each  side  a  number  of 
small  chambers  and  niches,  apparently  for  mummies,     The 


298  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

• 

illustrations  in  these  chambers  are  somewhat  defaced,  but 
very  curious,  on  account  of  the  light  which  they  throw 
upon  the  domestic  life  of  the  ancient  Egyptians.  They 
represent  the  slaughtering  of  oxen,  the  preparation  of  fowls 
for  the  table,  the  kneading  and  baking  of  bread  and  cakes, 
as  well  as  the  implements  and  utensils  of  the  kitchen.  In 
other  places  the  field  laborers  are  employed  in  leading  the 
waters  of  the  Nile  into  canals,  cutting  dourra,  and  threshing 
and  carrying  the  grain  into  magazines.  One  room  is  filled 
with  furniture,  and  the  row  of  chairs  around  the  base  of 
the  walls  would  not  be  out  of  place  in  the  most  elegant 
modern  drawing-room. 

10.  The  tomb  of   Memnon,  as  it   was  called  by  the 
Romans,  is  the  most  elegant  of  all  in  its  proportions,  and 
is  as  symmetrical  as  a  Grecian  temple.     On  the  walls  of 
the  entrance  are  several  inscriptions  of  Greek  tourists,  who 
visited  it  in  the  era  of  the  Ptolemies,  and  spent  their  time 
in  carving  their  names,  like  Americans  nowadays.  The  huge 
granite  sarcophagus  in  which  the  monarch's  mummy  was 
deposited  is  broken,  as  are  those  of  the  other  tombs,  with 
a  single  exception.     This  is  the  tomb  of  Osirei  I,  the  grand- 
father of  Sesostris,  and  the  oldest  in  the  valley.     I  visited 
it  by  crawling  through  a  hole  barely  large  enough  to  admit 
my  body,  after  which  I  slid  on  my  back  down  a  passage 
nearly  choked  with  sand,  to  another  hole,  opening  into  the 
burial-chamber.     Here  no  impious  hand  had  defaced  the 
walls,  but  the  figures  were  as  perfect  and  the  coloring  as 
brilliant  as  when  first  executed. 

11.  In  the  center  stood  an  immense  sarcophagus,  of  a 
single  block  of  red  granite,  and  the  massive  lid,  which  had 
been  thrown  oif,  lay  beside  it.     The  dust  in  the  bottom 
gave  out  that  peculiar  mummy  odor  perceptible  in  all  the 
tombs,  and,  in  fact,  long  after  one  has  left  them  ;  for  the 
clothes  become  saturated  with  it.      The  guide,  delighted 
with  having  dragged  me  into  that  chamber,  buried  deep  in 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT   WORKS.  299 

« 

the  dumb  heart  of  the  mountain,  said  not  a  word,  and 
from  the  awful  stillness  of  the  place,  and  the  phantasma- 
goric gleam  of  the  wonderful  figures  on  the  walls,  I  could 
have  imagined  myself  a  neophyte  on  the  threshold  of  the 
Osirian  mysteries. 

Bayard  Taylor. 


VISIT   TO   THE   CAVE    OF    ELEPHANTA. 

1.  ONE  of  the  most  noted  objects  of  interest  at  Bombay 
is  the  cave  of  Elephanta,  situated  upon  an  island  in  the 
harbor.      Yesterday   we   visited    this   great  work   of   art. 
Landing  at  a  convenient  pier  which  had  lately  been  erected 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  and  his 
party,  we  ascended  an  easy  flight  of  stone  steps  to  a  plateau 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  sea.     The  esplanade, 
as  well  as  the  entire  island,  is  deeply  shaded  with  the  beau- 
tiful, round-topped  Palmyra  palm.     A  decrepit  Irish  sol- 
dier, with  his  family,  in  a  bamboo  shanty,  keeps  watch 
and  ward  over  the  place.     Passing  to  the  center  of  the 
plateau  and  turning  to  the  right,  we  confronted  a  work  of 
human  art,  gigantic  and  marvelous. 

2.  It  is  a  subterranean  temple.     The  builders,  begin- 
ning half-way  up  the  mountain  declivity,  and  cutting  down 
vertically,  have  removed  the  mountain  face  to  the  depth  of 
thirty  feet,  and  to  the  width  of  three  hundred  feet.     The 
vertical  wall  thus  disclosed  is  of  basalt.     This  rock  they 
have  hewn  and  chiseled  away  to  the  very  center  of  the 
mountain,  and  wrought  it  into  a  temple  with  perfect  archi- 
tectural forms  and  just  proportions.     The  excavation  con- 
sists of  four  chambers.     The  central  one  is  majestic  with 
gateways,  abutments,  porches,  columns,  pilasters,  cornices, 
and  vaulted  ceilings,  as  complete  and  perfect  as  if,  instead 


300 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


of  having  been  carved  in  the  rock,  they  had  been  detached 
from  it,  framed  and  erected  on  the  ground. 

3.  While  no  architectural  element  is  omitted,  every  part 
is  perfectly  finished.  The  broad  pavement  is  as  level  and 
smooth  as  that  of  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol  at  Washing- 
ton. The  ceiling  needs  no  preparation  to  receive  either 
fresco  or  gilding.  The  dome  is  spherical,  while  the  col- 
umns upon  which  it  rests,  or  seems  to  rest,  have  regular 
bases,  bands,  flutings,  and  capitals,  though  all  alike  are 
shaped  from  the  undisturbed  rock.  We  even  thought  it 
necessary  to  examine  the  lintels  of  the  doors,  to  see  if  they 


Triad  Figure,  Interior  of  Temple  at  ElepTianta. 

were  not  detached  pieces  of  the  rock  itself.  Standing  in 
the  porch,  or  within  the  temple,  and  looking  inward,  you 
confront  the  farther  wall.  In  its  center  a  deep  recess, 
twenty  feet  square,  reaching  from  floor  to  roof,  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  bold  arch. 

4.  Within  this  recess  is  a  colossal  figure,  or  combina- 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT   WORKS.  301 

tion  of  figures,  representing  the  triune  god  :  Brahma,  the 
Creator ;  Vishnu,  the  Preserver ;  and  Siva,  the  Destroyer. 
Each  of  these  figures  is  twice  the  human  size.  Brahma  is 
looking  forward  in  an  attitude  of  calmness  and  contempla- 
tion ;  at  his  feet  is  a  crouching  lion.  Vishnu  rests  on  a 
bed  of  lotus  leaves.  Siva  in  one  hand  wields  a  drawn 
sword,  and  in  the  other  holds  a  cobra  ready  to  strike. 
The  gigantic  group  is  completed  by  the  accessories  of 
dwarfs  and  inferior  gods. 

5.  The  ceiling  of  the  recess  is  decorated  with  a  crowd 
of  not  less  than  fifty  or  sixty  figures,  such  as,  if  found  in 
any  Christian  temple,  would  be  taken  as  representing  angels. 
Every  figure  within  the  niche  has  a  distinctive  character, 
and  is  not  deficient  in  force.     But  this  group  within  the 
recess  is  only  one  group,  the  entire  temple  being  a  gallery 
full  of  like  statuary.     On  either  side  of  the  principal  hall 
or  temple  are  lesser  chambers,  or  chapels,  and  the  walls  of 
these  are  covered  with  allegorical  works  illustrating  the 
transformations,  incarnations,  battles,  triumphs,  marriages, 
and  miracles  of  the  several  members  of  the  Brahminical 
trinity. 

6.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  best  Oriental  scholars  that 
this  temple  was  excavated  about  twelve  hundred  years  ago. 
No  wonder  that  it  remains  complete  in  its  forms  and  pro- 
portions !    No  storm  can  penetrate  it,  and  no  flood  can 
invade  it.     Even  the  earthquake  has  spared  it.     Not  so  the 
demon  of  religious  zeal.     The  intolerant  followers  of  Mo- 
hammed mutilated  these  heathen  faces  and  forms  in  the 
fourteenth  century ;  and  the  no  less  fanatical  Portuguese, 
who  came  in  the  wake  of  the  Mohammedans,  finding  the 
task  of  defacing  with  the  hammer  too  slow,  brought  a 
battery  of  cannon  to  the  temple  door  and  battered  the  stone 
gods, 

7.  What  human  sentiment  is  so  strong  as  that  of  devo- 
tion ?     The  passions  of  love,  hate,  and  pride  have  covered 


302  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER, 

the  earth  with  their  monuments.  But  here  in  this  cave  of 
Elephanta  devotion  has  written  its  sublimest  faith  in  the 
very  center  of  the  earth  itself.  The  chamber,  which  is  at 
the  right  of  the  temple  as  you  look  inward,  contains  a 
spring  of  pure,  ever-flowing  water.  The  Brahmins  think 
it  possesses  a  healing  virtue,  and  it  is  among  their  fond 
conceits  that  the  purifying  water  comes  through  a  subter- 
ranean passage  from  the  Ganges. 

8.  The  cave-temple  of  Elephanta  is  by  no  means  a  soli- 
tary monument.  There  are  two  others  scarcely  less  spa- 
cious and  elaborate  on  the  same  small  island.  In  other 
parts  of  this  coast,  as  well  as  in  Ceylon,  there  are  not  only 
excavated  temples  of  Brahma,  but  also  of  Buddha,  of  di- 
mensions so  vast,  and  execution  so  marvelous,  as  to  throw 
those  of  Elephanta  into  the  shade. 

Seward's  Travels 


THE   CATACOMBS   OF    ROME. 

1.  THE  Roman  catacombs  consist  for  the  most  part  of  a 
subterranean  labyrinth  of  passages,  cut  through  the  soft 
volcanic  rock  of  the  Campagna,  so  narrow  as  rarely  to  ad- 
mit of  two  persons  walking  abreast  easily,  but  here  and 
there  on  either  side  opening  into  chambers  of  varying  size 
and  form.  The  walls  of  the  passages,  through  their  whole 
extent,  are  lined  with  narrow  excavations,  one  above  an' 
other,  large  enough  to  admit  of  a  body  being  placed  in 
each  ;  and,  where  they  remain  in  their  original  condition, 
these  excavations  are  closed  in  front  by  tiles,  or  by  a  slab  of 
marble  cemented  to  the  rock,  and  in  most  cases  bearing  an 
inscription.  Nor  is  the  labyrinth  composed  of  passages 
upon  a  single  level  only ;  frequently  there  are  several 
stories  connected  with  each  other  by  sloping  ways. 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT  WORKS.  303 

2.  There  is  no  single  circumstance,  in  relation  to  the 
catacombs,  of  more  striking  and  at  first  sight  perplexing 
character  than  their  vast  extent.     About  twenty  different 
catacombs  are  now  known,  and  are  more  or  less  open — and 
a  year  is  now  hardly  likely  to  pass  without  the  discovery  of 
a  new  one  ;  for  the  original  number  of  under-ground  ceme- 
teries, as  ascertained  from  the  early  authorities,  was  nearly, 
if  not  quite,  three  times  this  number. 

3.  It  is  but  a  very  few  years  since  the  entrance  to  the 
famous  catacomb  of  St.  Calixtus,  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing of  all,  was  found  by  the  Cavaliere  de  Rossi ;  and  it  was 
only  in  the  spring  of  1855  that  the  buried  church  and  cata- 
comb of  St.  Alexander  on  the  Normentan  Way  was  brought 
to  light.     Earthquakes,  floods,  and  neglect  have  obliterated 
the  openings  of  many  of  these  ancient  cemeteries — and  the 
hollow  soil  of  the  Oampagna  is  full  "of  hidden  graves, 
which  men  walk  over  without  knowing  where  they  are." 

4.  Each  of  the  twelve  great  highways  which  ran  from 
the  gates  of  Rome  was  bordered  on  either  side,  at  a  short 
distance  from  the  city  wall,  by  the  hidden  Christian  ceme- 
teries.    The  only  one  of  the  catacombs  of  which  even  a 
partial  survey  has  been  made  is  that  of  St.  Agnes,  of  a 
portion  of  which  the  Padre  Marchi  published  a  map  in 
1845. 

5.  "It  is  calculated  to  contain  about  an  eighth  part  of 
that  cemetery.     The  greatest  length  of  the  portion  thus 
measured  is  not  more  than  seven  hundred  feet,  and  its 
greatest  width  about  five  hundred  and  fifty ;  nevertheless, 
if  we  measure  all  the  streets  that  it  contains,  their  united 
length  scarcely  falls  short  of  two   English   miles.      This 
would  give  fifteen  or  sixteen  miles  for  all  the  streets  in  the 
cemetery  of  St.  Agnes." 

6.  Taking  this  as  a  fair  average  of  the  size  of  the  cata- 
combs, for  some  are  larger  and  some  smaller,  we  must  as- 
sign to  the  streets  of  graves  already  known  a  total  length 


304  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

of  about  three  hundred  miles,  with  a  probability  that  the 
unknown  ones  are  at  least  of  equal  length. 

7.  This  conclusion  appears  startling  when  one  thinks  of 
the  close  arrangement  of  the  lines  of  graves  along  the  walls 
of  these  passages.     The  height  of  the  passages  varies  great- 
ly, and  with  it  the  number  of  graves,  one  above  another ; 
but  the  Padre  March  i,  who  is  competent  authority,  estimates 
the  average  at  ten,  that  is,  five  on  each  side,  for  every  seven 
feet— which  would  give  a  population  of  the  dead,  for  three 
hundred  miles,  of  not  less  than  two  millions  and  a  quarter. 
No  one  who  has  visited  the  catacombs  can  believe,  surpris- 
ing as  this  number  may  seem,  that  the  Padre  Marchi's  cal- 
culation is  an  extravagant  one  as  to  the  number  of  graves 
in  a  given  space.     We  have  ourselves  counted  eleven  graves 
one  over  another,  on  each  side  of  the  passage,  and  there  is 
no  space  lost  between  the  head  of  one  grave  and  the  foot  of 
another.     Everywhere  there  is  economy  of  space — the  econ- 
omy of  men  working  on  a  hard  material,  difficult  to  be  re- 
moved, and  laboring  in  a  confined  space,  with  the  need  of  rest. 

8.  Descending  from  the  level  of  the  ground  by  a  flight 
of  steps  into  one  of  the  narrow  under-ground  passages,  one 
sees  on  either  side,  by  the  light  of  the  taper  with  which  he 
is  provided,  range  upon  range  of  tombs  cut,  as  has  been  de- 
scribed,  in  the  walls  that  border  the   pathway.     Usually 
the  arrangement  is  careful,   but   with   an   indiscriminate 
mingling  of  larger  and  smaller  graves,  as  if  they  had  been 
made  one  after  another  for  young  and  old  according  as  they 
might  be  brought  for  burial.     Now  and  then  a  system  of 
regularity  is  introduced,  as  if  the  digger,  who  was  a  recog- 
nized officer  of  the  early  Church,  had  had  the  leisure  for 
preparing  graves  before  they  were  needed.     Here  there  is 
a  range  of  little  graves  for  the  youngest  children,  so  that  all 
infants  should  be  laid  together,  then  a  range  for  older  chil- 
dren, and  then  one  for  the  grown  up. 

9.  Sometimes,  instead  of  a  grave  suitable  for  a  single 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT   WORKS.  305 

body,  the  excavation  is  made  deep  enough  into  the  rock  to 
admit  of  two,  three,  or  four  bodies  being  placed  side  by 
side — family  graves.  And  sometimes,  instead  of  the  simple 
loculus,  or  coffin-like  excavation,  there  is  an  arch  cut  out 
of  the  tufa,  and  sunk  back  over  the  whole  depth  of  the 
grave,  the  outer  side  of  which  is  not  cut  away,  so  that,  in- 
stead of  being  closed  in  front  by  a  perpendicular  slab  of  mar- 
ble or  of  tiles,  it  is  covered  on  the  top  by  an  horizontal  slab. 

10.  But  besides  the  different  forms  of  the  graves  by 
which  their  general  character  was  varied,  there  were  often 
personal  marks  of  affection  and  remembrance  affixed  to  the 
narrow  excavations,   which   give  to   the   catacombs   their 
most  peculiar  and  touching  interest.     The  marble  facing  of 
the  tomb  is  engraved  with  a  simple  name  or  date  ;  or,  where 
tiles  ta,ke  the  place  of  marble,  the  few  words  needed  are 
scratched  upon  their  hard  surface. 

11.  But  the  galleries  of  the  catacombs  are  not  wholly 
occupied  with  graves.     Now  and  then  they  open  on  either 
side  into  chambers  of  small  dimension  and  of  various  form, 
scooped  out  of  the  rock  and  furnished  with  graves  around 
their  sides — the  burial-place  arranged  beforehand  for  some 
large  family,  or  for  certain  persons  buried  with  special 
honor.     Other  openings  in  the  rocks  are  designed  for  chap- 
els, in  which  the  burial  and  other  services  of  the  Church 
were  performed.    These,  too,  are  of  various  sizes  and  forms ; 
the  largest  of  them  would  hold  but  a  small  number  of  per- 
sons ;  but  not  unfrequently  two  stand  opposite  each  other 
on  the  passageway,  as  if  one  were  for  the  men,  and  the  other 
for  the  women  who  should  be  present  at  the  services. 

Anonymous. 


306  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


ROADS   OF  THE    INCAS. 

1.  THOSE  who  may  distrust  the  accounts  of  Peruvian 
industry  will  find  their  doubts  removed  on  a  visit  to  the 
country.     The  traveler  still  meets,  especially  in  the  central 
regions  of  the  table-lands,  with  memorials  of  the  past — re- 
mains of  temples,  fortresses,  terraced  mountains,  great  mili- 
tary roads,  aqueducts,  and  other  public  works — which,  what- 
ever degree  of  science  they  may  display  in  their  execution, 
astonish  him  by  their  number,  the  massive  character  of  the 
materials,  and  the  grandeur  of  the  design. 

2.  Among  them,  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  are  the 
great  roads,  the  broken  remains  of  which  are  still  in  suffi- 
cient preservation  to  attest  to  their  former  magnificence. 
There  were  many  of  these  roads,  traversing  different  parts 
of  the  kingdom  ;  but  the  most  considerable  were  the  two 
which  extended  from  Quito  to  Cuzco,  and,  again  diverging 
from  the  capital,  continued  in  a  southern  direction  toward 
Chili. 

3.  One  of  these  roads  passed  over  the  grand  plateau, 
and  the  other  along  the  lowlands  on  the  borders  of  the 
ocean.     The  former  was  much  the  more  difficult  achieve- 
ment, from  the  character  of  the  country.     It  was  conducted 
over  pathless  sierra  buried  in  snow ;  galleries  were  cut  for 
leagues  through  the  living  rock ;   rivers  were  crossed  by 
means  of  bridges  that  swung  suspended  in  the  air ;  preci- 
pices of  hideous  depths  were  filled  up  by  solid  masonry  ;  in 
short,  all  the  difficulties  that  beset  a  wild  and  mountainous 
region,  and  which  might  appall  the  most  courageous  engi- 
neer of  modern  times,  were  encountered,  and  successfully 
overcome. 

4.  The  length  of  the  road,  of  which  scattered  fragments 
only  remain,  is  variously  estimated  at  from  fifteen  hundred 
to  two  thousand  miles  ;  and  stone  pillars,  in  the  manner  of 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT   WORKS.  307 

European  mile-stones,  were  erected  at  stated  intervals  of 
somewhat  more  than  a  league,  all  along  the  route.  Its 
breadth  scarcely  exceeded  twenty  feet.  It  was  built  of 
heavy  flags  of  freestone,  and  in  some  parts,  at  least,  cov- 
ered with  a  bituminous  cement,  which  time  has  made 
harder  than  stone  itself.  In  some  places,  where  the  ravines 
had  been  filled  up  with  masonry,  the  mountain  torrents, 
wearing  on  it  for  ages,  have  gradually  eaten  a  way  through 
the  base,  and  left  the  superincumbent  mass — such  is  the 
cohesion  of  the  materials — still  spanning  the  valley  like  an 
arch. 

5.  Over  some  of  the  boldest  streams  it  was  necessary  to 
construct  suspension  bridges,  as  they  are  termed,  made  of 
the  tough  fibers  of  the  maguey,  or  of  the  osier  of  the  coun- 
try, which  has  an  extraordinary  degree  of  tenacity  and 
strength.     These  osiers  were  woven  into  cables  of  the  thick- 
ness of  a  man's  body.     The  huge  ropes,  then  stretched 
across  the  water,  were  conducted  through  rings  or  holes 
cut  in  immense  buttresses  of  stone  raised  on  the  opposite 
banks  of  the  river,  and  there  secured  to  heavy  pieces  of 
timber. 

6.  Several  of   these   enormous   cables  bound  together 
formed  a  bridge,  which,  covered  with  planks,  well  secured 
and  defended  by  a  railing  of  the  same  osier  materials  on 
the  sides,  afforded  a  safe  passage  for  the  traveler.     The 
length  of  this  aerial  bridge,  sometimes  exceeding  two  hun- 
dred feet,  caused  it,  confined  as  it  was  only  at  the  extremi- 
ties, to  dip  with  an  alarming  inclination  toward  the  center, 
while  the  motion  given  to  it  by  the  passenger  occasioned  an 
oscillation  still  more  frightful,  as  his  eye  wandered  over  the 
dark  abyss  of  waters  that  foamed  and  tumbled  many  a 
fathom  beneath. 

7.  Yet  these  light  and  fragile  fabrics  were  crossed  with- 
out fear  by  the  Peruvians,  and  are  still  retained  by  the 
Spaniards  over  those  streams  which,  from  the  depth  or  im- 

21 


308  GEOGRAPHICAL 

petuosity  of  the  current,  would  seem  impracticable  for 
the  usual  modes  of  conveyance.  The  wider  and  more  tran- 
quil waters  were  crossed  on  balsas — a  kind  of  raft  still  much 
used  by  the  natives — to  which  sails  were  attached,  furnish- 
ing the  only  instance  of  this  higher  kind  of  navigation 
among  the  American  Indians. 

8.  The  other  great  road  of  the  Incas  lay  through  the 
level  country  between  the  Andes  and  the  ocean.     It  was 
constructed  in  a  different  manner,  as  demanded  by  the  na- 
ture of  the  ground,  which  was  for  the  most  part  low,  and 
much  of  it  sandy.     The  causeway  was  raised  on  a  high  em- 
bankment of  earth,  and  defended  on  either  side  by  a  para- 
pet or  wall  of  clay  ;  and  trees  and  odoriferous  shrubs  were 
planted  along  the  margin,  regaling  the  sense  of  the  traveler 
with  their  perfumes,  and  refreshing  him  by  their  shades, 
so  grateful  under  the  burning  rays  of  the  tropics.     In  the 
strips  of  sandy  waste  which  occasionally  intervened,  where 
the  light  and  volatile  soil  was  incapable  of  sustaining  a 
road,  huge  piles,  many  of  them  to  be  seen  at  this  day, 
were  driven  into  the  ground  to  indicate  the  route  to  the 
traveler. 

9.  All  along  these  highways,  caravansaries,  or  tanibos,  as 
they  were  called,  were  erected  at  the  distance  of  ten  or  twelve 
miles  from  each  other,  for  the  accommodation  more  particu- 
larly of  the  Inca  and  his  suite,  and  those  who  journeyed  on 
the  public  business.     There  were  few  other  travelers  in  Peru. 
Some  of  these  buildings  were  on  an  extensive  scale,  sur- 
rounded by  a  parapet  of  stone,  and  covering  a  large  tract 
of  land.     These  were  evidently  destined  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  imperial  armies  when  on  their  march  across 
the  country. 

10.  The  care  of  the  great  roads  was  committed  to  the 
districts  through  which  they  passed,  and  a  large  number  of 
hands  were  constantly  employed  under  the  Incas  to  keep 
them  in  repair.     This  was  the  more  easily  done  in  a  coun- 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT   WORKS.  309 

try  where  the  mode  of  traveling  was  altogether  on  foot ; 
though  the  roads  are  said  to  have  been  so  nicely  constructed 
that  a  carriage  might  have  rolled  over  them  as  securely  as 
on  any  of  the  great  roads  of  Europe.  Still,  in  a  region 
where  the  elements  of  fire  and  water  are  both  actively  at 
work  in  the  business  of  destruction,  they  must,  without 
constant  supervision,  have  gradually  gone  to  decay. 

11.  Such  has  been  their  fate  under  the  Spanish  con- 
querors, who  took  no  care  to  enforce  the  admirable  system 
for  their  preservation  adopted  by  the  Incas.  Yet  the 
broken  portions  that  still  survive,  here  and  there,  like  the 
fragments  of  the  great  Eoman  roads  scattered  over  Europe, 
bear  evidence  to  their  primitive  grandeur,  and  have  drawn 
forth  the  eulogium  from  a  discriminating  traveler,  that 
"the  roads  of  the  Incas  were  among  the  most  useful  and 
stupendous  works  ever  executed  by  man." 

William  H.  Prescott. 


THE   ALHAMBRA. 

1.  To  a  traveler  imbued  with  a  feeling  for  the  historical 
and  poetical,  so  inseparably  intertwined  in  the  annals  of 
romantic  Spain,  the  Alhambra  is  as  much  an  object  of  de- 
votion as  is  the  Caaba  to  all  true  Moslems.  How  many 
legends  and  traditions,  true  and  fabulous  ;  how  many  songs 
and  ballads,  Arabian  and  Spanish,  of  love  and  war  and 
chivalry,  are  associated  with  this  immortal  pile  !  It  was 
the  royal  abode  of  the  Moorish  kings,  where,  surrounded 
with  the  splendors  and  refinements  of  Asiatic  luxury,  they 
held  dominion  over  what  they  vaunted  as  a  terrestrial  para- 
dise, and  made  their  last  stand  for  empire  in  Spain.  The 
royal  palace  forms  but  a  part  of  a  fortress,  the  walls  of 
which,  studded  with  towers,  stretch  irregularly  round  the 


310 


GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 


whole  crest  of  a  hill,  a  spur  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  or  Snowy 
Mountains,  and  overlook  the  city ;  externally  it  is  a  rude 
congregation  of  towers  and  battlements,  with  no  regularity 
of  place  nor  grace  of  architecture,  and  giving  but  little 
promise  of  the  grace  and  beauty  within. 


The  AlTiambra, 


2.  In  the  time  of  the  Moors  the  fortress  was  capable  of 
containing  within  its  outward  precincts  an  army  of  forty 
thousand  men,  and  served  occasionally  as  a  stronghold  of 
the  sovereigns  against  their  rebellious  subjects.  After  the 
kingdom  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Christians,  the 
Alhambra  continued  to  be  a  royal  demesne,  and  was  occa- 
sionally inhabited  by  the  Castilian  monarchs.  The  Em- 
peror Charles  V  commenced  a  sumptuous  palace  within  its 
walls,  but  was  deterred  from  completing  it  by  repeated 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT   WORKS.  311 

shocks  of  earthquakes.  The  last  royal  residents  were  Philip 
V  and  his  beautiful  wife,  Elizabeth  of  Parma,  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  Great  preparations  were  made  for 
their  reception.  The  palaces  and  gardens  were  placed  in  a 
state  of  repair,  and  a  new  suite  of  apartments  erected,  and 
decorated  by  artists  brought  from  Italy.  The  sojourn  of 
the  sovereigns  was  but  transient,  and  after  their  departure 
the  palace  became  desolate. 

3.  During  the  recent  troubles  in  Spain,  when  Granada 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  French,  the  Alhambra  was  garri- 
soned by  their  troops,  and  the  palace  was  occasionally  in- 
habited by  the  French  commander.     With  that  enlightened 
taste   which  has  ever  distinguished  the  French  nation  in 
their  conquests,  this  monument  of  Moorish  elegance  and 
grandeur  was  rescued  from  the  absolute  ruin  and  desolation 
that  were  overwhelming  it.     The  roofs  were  repaired,  the 
saloons  and  galleries  protected  from  the  weather,  the  gar- 
dens cultivated,  the  water-courses  restored,  the  fountains 
once  more  made  to  throw  up  their  sparkling  showers  ;  and 
Spain  may  thank  her  invaders  for  having  preserved  to  her 
the  most  beautiful  and  interesting  of  her  historical  monu- 
ments. 

4.  Our  first  object,  of  course,  on  the  morning  after  our 
arrival,  was  a  visit  to  this  time-honored  edifice  ;  it  has  been 
so  often,  however,  and  so  minutely  described  by  travelers, 
that  I  shall  not  undertake  to  give  a  comprehensive  and 
elaborate  account  of  it,  but  merely  sketches  of  parts,  with 
the  incidents  and  associations  connected  with  them. 

5.  Leaving  our  posada,   and  traversing  the  renowned 
square  of  the  Vivarrambla,  once  the  scene  of  Moorish  jousts 
and  tournaments,  now  a  crowded  market-place,  we  proceeded 
along  the  Zacatin,  the  main  street  of  what,  in  the  time  of 
the  Moors,  was  the  Great  Bazaar,  and  where  small  shops 
and   narrow   alleys   still   retain   their   Oriental   character. 
Crossing  an  open  place  in  front  of  the  palace  of  the  captain- 


312  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

general,  we  ascended  a  confined  and  winding  street,  the 
name  of  which  reminded  us  of  the  chivalric  days  of  Grana- 
da. It  is  called  the  Calle  or  street  of  the  Gomeres,  from  a 
Moorish  family  famous  in  chronicle  and  song.  This  street 
led  up  to  the  Puerta  de  las  Granadas,  a  massive  gate-way 
of  Grecian  architecture  built  by  Charles  V,  forming  the 
entrance  to  the  domains  of  the  Alhambra.  At  the  gate 
were  two  or  three  ragged  superannuated  soldiers,  dozing  on 
a  stone  bench,  the  successors  of  the  Zegris  and  the  Abencer- 
rages  ;  while  a  tall,  meager  varlet,  whose  rusty-brown  cloak 
was  evidently  intended  to  conceal  the  ragged  state  of  his 
nether  garments,  was  lounging  in  the  sunshine  and  gossip- 
ing with  an  ancient  sentinel  on  duty.  He  joined  us  as  we 
entered  the  gate,  and  offered  his  services  to  show  us  the  for- 
tress. I  have  a  traveler's  dislike  to  officious  ciceroni,  and 
did  not  altogether  like  the  garb  of  the  applicant.  "  You 
are  very  well  acquainted  with  the  place,  I  presume."  "  No- 
body better  ;  in  fact,  sir,  I  am  a  son  of  the  Alhambra  ! "  I 
put  some  further  questions  to  him,  and  found  that  his  title 
was  legitimate.  His  family  had  lived  in  the  fortress  from 
generation  to  generation  ever  since  the  time  of  the  con- 
quest. The  first  title  of  this  ragged  worthy,  however,  had 
completely  captivated  me,  so  I  gladly  accepted  the  services 
of  the  "son  of  the  Alhambra." 

6.  We  now  found  ourselves  in  a  deep,  narrow  ravine, 
filled  with  beautiful  groves,  with  a  steep  avenue,  and  vari- 
ous foot-paths  winding  through  it,  bordered  with  stone 
seats  and  ornamented  with  fountains.  To  our  left,  we 
beheld  the  towers  of  the  Alhambra,  beetling  above  us  ;  to 
our  right,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  ravine,  we  were 
equally  dominated  by  rival  towers  on  a  rocky  eminence. 
These,  we  were  told,  were  the  Torres  Vermejos,  or  vermil- 
ion towers,  so  called  from  their  ruddy  hue.  No  one  knows 
their  origin.  They  are  of  a  date  much  anterior  to  the  Al- 
hambra; some  suppose  them  to  have  been  built  by  the 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT  WORKS.  313 

Romans  ;  others,  by  some  wandering  colony  of  Phoenicians. 
Ascending  the  steep,  shadowy  avenue,  we  arrived  at  the  foot 
of  a  huge,  square  Moorish  tower,  forming  a  kind  of  barba- 
can,  through  which  passed  the  main  entrance  to  the  for- 
tress. Within  the  barbacan  was  another  group  of  veteran 
invalids,  one  mounting  guard  at  the  portal,  while  the  rest, 
wrapped  in  their  tattered  cloaks,  slept  on  the  stone  benches. 
This  portal  is  called  the  Gate  of  Justice,  from  the  tribunal 
held  within  its  portals  during  the  Moslem  domination  for  the 
immediate  trial  of  petty  causes — a  custom  common  to  the  Ori- 
ental nations,  and  occasionally  alluded  to  in  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures :  "  Judges  and  officers  shalt  thou  make  thee  in  all  thy 
gates,  and  they  shall  judge  the  people  with  just  judgment." 

7.  The  great  vestibule,  or  porch  of  the  gate,  is  formed 
by  an  immense  Arabian  arch,  of  the  horse-shoe  form,  which 
springs  to  half  the  height  of  the  tower.     On  the  key-stone 
of  this  arch  is  engraven  a  gigantic  hand.     Within  the  vesti- 
bule, on  the  key-stone  of  the  portal,  is  sculptured,  in  a  like 
manner,  a  gigantic    key.     Those   who    pretend   to    some 
knowledge  of  Mohammedan  symbols  affirm  that  the  hand 
is  the  emblem  of  doctrine,  the  five  fingers  designating  the 
five  principal  commandments  of  the  creed  of  Islam — fast- 
ing, pilgrimage,  alms-giving,  ablution,  and  war  against  in- 
fidels.    The  key,  say  they,  is  the  emblem  of  the  faith  or  of 
power  :  the  key  of  David  transmitted  to  the  prophet.     The 
key,  we  are  told,  was  emblazoned  on  the  standard  of  the 
Moslems  in  opposition  to  the  Christian  emblem  of  the  cross, 
when  they  subdued  Spain  or  Andalusia.     It  betokened  the 
conquering  power  invested  in  the  prophet. 

8.  A  different  explanation  of  these  emblems,  however, 
was  given  by  the  legitimate  son  of  the  Alhambra,  and  one 
more  in  unison  with  the  notions  of  the  common  people,  who 
attach  something   of    mystery  and   magic   to   everything 
Moorish,  and  have  all  kinds  of  superstitions  connected  with 
this  old  Moslem  fortress.     According  to  Mateo,  it  was  a  tra- 


314  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

dition  handed  down  from  the  oldest  inhabitants,  and  which 
he  had  from  his  father  and  grandfather,  that  the  hand  and 
key  were  magical  devices  on  which  the  fate  of  the  Alham- 
bra  depended.  The  Moorish  king  who  built  it  was  a  great 
magician,  or,  as  some  believed,  had  sold  himself  to  the  devil, 
and  had  laid  the  whole  fortress  under  a  magic  spell.  By 
this  means  it  had  remained  standing  for  several  hundred 
years,  in  defiance  of  storms  and  earthquakes,  while  almost 
all  other  buildings  of  the  Moors  had  fallen  to  ruin  and  dis- 
appeared. This  spell,  the  tradition  went  on  to  say,  would 
last  till  the  hand  an  the  outer  arch  should  reach  down  and 
grasp  the  key,  when  the  whole  pile  would  tumble  to  pieces, 
and  all  the  treasures  buried  beneath  it  by  the  Moors  would 
be  revealed. 

9.  After  passing  through  the  barbacan,  we  ascended  a 
narrow  lane,  winding  between  walls,  and  came  on  an  open 
esplanade  within  the  fortress,  called  the  Plaza  de  los  Algi- 
bes,  or  Place  of  the  Cisterns,  from  great  reservoirs  which 
undermine  it,  cut  in  the  living  rock  by  the  Moors  to  re- 
ceive water  brought  by  conduits  from  the  Darro  for  the 
supply  of  the  fortress.     Here,  also,  is  a  well  of  immense 
depth,  furnishing  the  purest  and  coldest  of  water — another 
monument  of  the  delicate  taste  of  the  Moors,  who  were 
indefatigable  in  their  exertions  to  obtain  that  element  in 
its  crystal  purity. 

10.  Under  the  guidance  of  a  plump  little  black-eyed 
Andalusian  damsel  called  Dolores,  we  crossed  the  thresh- 
old, and  were  at  once  transported,  as  if  by  magic  wand, 
into  other  times  and  an  Oriental  realm,  and  were  treading 
the  scenes  of  Arabian  story.     Nothing  could  be  in  greater 
contrast  than  the  unpromising  exterior  of  the  pile  with  the 
scene  now  before  us.     We  found  ourselves  in  a  vast  patio 
or  court,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length  and  upward 
of  eighty  in  breadth,  paved  with  white  marble,  and  deco- 
rated at   each  end  with  light  Moorish  peristyles,  one  of 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT   WORKS.  315 

which  supported  an  elegant  gallery  of  fretted  architecture. 
Along  the  moldings  of  the  cornices  and  on  various  parts 
of  the  walls  were  escutcheons  and  ciphers,  and  Cufic  and 
Arabic  characters  in  high  relief,  repeating  the  pious  mot- 
toes of  the  Moslem  monarchs,  the  builders  of  the  Alham- 
bra,  or  extolling  their  grandeur  and  munificence.  Along 
the  center  of  the  court  extended  an  immense  basin  or  tank, 
a  hundred  and  twenty-four  feet  in  length,  twenty-seven  in 
breadth,  and  five  in  depth,  receiving  its  water  from  two 
marble  vases.  Hence  it  is  called  the  Court  of  the  Alberca 
(from  al  Berrkali,  the  Arabic  for  pond  or  tank).  Great 
numbers  of  gold-fish  were  to  be  seen  gleaming  through  the 
waters  of  the  basin,  and  it  was  bordered  by  hedges  of  roses. 

11.  Passing  from  the   court  of  the  Alberca  under  a 
Moorish  archway,  we  entered  the  renowned  Court  of  Lions. 
No  part  of  the  edifice  gives  a  more  complete  idea  of  its 
original  beauty  than  this,  for  none  has  suffered  so  little 
from  the  ravages  of  time.     In  the  center  stands  the  fount- 
ain famous  in  song  and  story.     The  alabaster  basins  still 
shed  their  diamond  drops  ;  the  twelve  lions  which  support 
them,  and  give  the  court  its  name,  still  cast  forth  crystal 
streams  as  in  the  days  of  Boabdil. 

12.  The  lions,  however,  are  unworthy  of  their  fame,  be- 
ing of  miserable   sculpture,  the   work  probably  of  some 
Christian  captive.     The  court  is  laid  out  in  flower-beds  in- 
stead of  ancient  and  appropriate  pavement  of  tiles  or  mar- 
ble ;  the  alteration,  an  instance  of  bad  taste,  was  made  by 
the  French  when  in  possession  of  Granada.     Round  the 
four  sides  of  the  court  are  light  Arabian  arcades  of  open 
filigree  supported  by  slender  pillars  of  white  marble,  which 
it  is  supposed  were  originally  gilded.     The  architecture, 
like  that  in  most  parts  of  the  interior  of  the  palace,  is  char- 
acterized by  elegance  rather  than  grandeur,  bespeaking  a 
delicate  and  graceful  taste,  and  a  disposition  to  indolent 
enjoyment.     When  one  looks  upon  the  fairy  traces  of  the 


316 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


peristyles,  and  the  apparently  fragile  fretwork  of  the  walls, 
:t  is  difficult  to  believe  that  so  much  has  survived  the  wear 
and  tear  of  centuries,  the  shocks  of  earthquakes,  the  vio- 
lence of  war,  and  the  quiet,  though  no  less  baneful,  pilfer- 


Interior  of  the  Alhambra. — Hall  of  the  Abencerrages. 

ings  of  the  tasteful  traveler  ;  it  is  almost  sufficient  to  excuse 

the  popular  tradition  that  all  is  protected  by  a  magic  charm. 

13.   On  one  side  of  the  court  a  rich  portal  opens  into 

the  hall  of  the  Abencerrages,  so  called  for  the  gallant  cava- 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT   WORKS.  317 

liers  of  that  illustrious  line  who  were  here  perfidiously 
massacred.  There  are  some  who  doubt  the  whole  story ; 
but  our  humble  cicerone  Mateo  pointed  out  the  very  wicket 
of  the  portal  through  which  they  were  introduced  one  by 
one  into  the  Court  of  Lions,  and  the  white  marble  fountain 
in  the  center  of  the  hall  beside  which  they  were  beheaded. 
He  showed  us  also  certain  broad,  ruddy  stains  on  the  pave= 
ment,  traces  of  their  blood,  which,  according  to  popular  be- 
lief, can  never  be  effaced. 

14.  Immediately  opposite  the  hall  of  the  Abencerrages 
a  portal,  richly  adorned,  leads  into  a  hall  of  less  tragic  as- 
sociations.    It  is  light  and  lofty,  exquisitely  graceful  in  its 
architecture,  paved  with  white  marble,  and  bears  the  sug- 
gestive name  of  the  Hall  of  the  Two  Sisters.     Some  destroy 
the  romance  of  the  name  by  attributing  it  to  two  enormous 
slabs  of  alabaster  which  lie  side  by  side,  an  opinion  strongly 
supported  by  Mateo  Ximenes.     Others  are  disposed  to  give 
the  name  a  more  poetical  significance,  as  the  vague  me- 
morial of  Moorish  beauties  who  once  graced  the  hall,  which 
was  evidently  a  part  of  the  royal  harem.     This  opinion  I 
was  happy  to   find  entertained  by   our  bright-eyed  guide 
Dolores,  who  pointed   to  a  balcony  over  an  inner  porch, 
which  gallery,  she  had  been  told,  belonged  to  the  women's 
apartment.     "You  see,  sefior,"  said  she,  " it  is  all  grated 
and  latticed  like  the  gallery  in  a  convent  chapel,  where  the 
nuns  hear  mass  ;  for  the  Moorish  kings,"  added  she,  indig- 
nantly, "  shut  up  their  wives  just  like  nuns." 

15.  The  latticed    "jalousies,"   in    fact,    still  remain, 
whence  the  dark-eyed  beauties  of  the  harem  might  gaze  un- 
seen upon  the  zambras  and  other  dances  and  entertainments 
in  the  hall  below. 

16.  On  each  side  of  this  hall  are  recesses  or  alcoves  for 
ottomans  and  couches,  on  which  the  voluptuous  lords  of  the 
Alhambra  indulged  in  that  dreamy  repose  so  dear  to  Orient- 
alists.    A  cupola  or  lantern  admits  a  tempered  light  from 


318  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

above,  and  a  free  circulation  of  air ;  while  on  one  side  is 
heard  refreshing  sounds  of  water  from  the  Fountain  of  the 
Lions,  and  on  the  other  side  the  soft  plash  from  the  basin  in 
the  garden  of  Lindaraxa. 

17.  It  is  impossible  to  contemplate  this  scene,  so  per- 
fectly Oriental,  without  feeling  the   early   associations  of 
Arabian  romance,  and  almost  expecting  to  see  the  white 
arm  of  some  mysterious  princess  beckoning  from  the  gal- 
lery, or  some  dark  eye  sparkling  through  the  lattice.     The 
abode  of  beauty  is  here  as  if  it  had  been  inhabited  yester- 
day ;  but  where  are  the  two  sisters  ?  where  the  Zoraydas 
and  Lindaraxas  ? 

18.  An  abundant  supply  of  water,  brought  from  the 
mountains  by  old  Moorish  aqueducts,  circulates  throughout 
the  palace,  supplying  its  baths  and  fish-pools,  sparkling  in 
jets  within  its  halls,  or  murmuring  in  channels  along  the 
marble   pavements.     When  it  has  paid  its  tribute  to  the 
royal  pile,  and  visited  its  gardens  and  parterres,  it  flows 
down  the  long  avenue  leading  to  the  city,  tinkling  in  rills, 
gushing  in  fountains,  and  maintaining  a  perpetual  verdure 
in  those  groves  that  embower  and  beautify  the  whole  hill  of 
the  Alhambra. 

19.  Those  only  who  have  sojourned  in  the  ardent  cli- 
mates of  the  South  can  appreciate  the  delights  of  an  abode 
combining  the  breezy  coolness  of  the  mountain  with  the 
freshness  and  verdure  of  the  valley.     While  the  city  below 
pants  with  the  noontide  heat,  and  the  parched  vega  trembles 
to  the  eye,  the  delicate  airs  from  the  Sierra  Nevada  play 
through  these  lofty  halls,  bringing  with  them  the  sweetness 
of  the  surrounding  gardens.     Everything  invites   to  that 
indolent  repose,  the  bliss  of  southern  climes  ;   and  while 
the  half-shut  eye  looks  out  from  shaded  balconies  upon  the 
glittering  landscape,  the  ear  is  lulled  by  the  rustling  of 
groves,  and  the  murmur  of  running  water. 

Washington  Irving. 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT  WORKS.  319 


THE    CLIFF-DWELLERS. 

1.  A  FEW  years  since,  the  exploring  parties  sent  out  by 
the  United  States  Government  discovered  evidences  of  an- 
cient occupation  in  the  now  wild  and  uninhabited  portions 
of  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona.     The  remains  of 
dwellings  built  of  stone  were  found  scattered  over  a  large 
extent  of  territory,  some  isolated,  but  mostly  grouped  in 
villages.     A  very  remarkable  feature  of  these  dwellings  was 
that  they  were  frequently  found  built  in  crevices  upon  the 
almost  vertical  sides  of  cliifs,  where  they  could  be  reached 
only  by  narrow  and  zigzag  paths  leading  up  from  below. 
The  cliffs  themselves  formed  the  canons  of  the  streams,  and 
were  from  two  hundred  to  a  thousand  feet  in  height.     Fre- 
quently the  rock  on  the  top  overhung  the  walls  below  and 
formed  a  kind  of  roof  to  the  dwellings,  which  were  in  part 
excavated  and  in  part  built  out  on  the  face  of  the  cliff. 

2.  The  latest  explorations  show  that  these  cliff-dwelJ- 
ers  occupied  a  large  extent  of  territory.      A  reporter  for 
the  "  New  York  Tribune,"  under  date  of  January  1,  1882, 
gives  the  following  account  of  the  researches  made  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  James  Stevenson,  one  of  the  United 
States  engineers,  during  the  past  year  : 

3.  The  Pueblo,  or  village  Indians,  are  scattered  over  an 
area  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  extending  along  the  Rio 
Grande  five  hundred  miles  north  and  south,  and  four  hun- 
dred miles  westward.     Within  this  area  there  are  now  about 
thirty-four  inhabited  villages.     There  are  also  the  ruins  of 
thousands  of  ancient  villages  and  towns  situated  in  the 
valleys  of  the  streams,  on  the  summits  of  the  Mesas,  and 
many  high  up  in  the  sides  of  the  cliffs  and  the  walls  of 
canons,  being  carved  out  like  swallows'  nests.     The  ruins 
already  known  are  sufficient  in  number  and  extejit  to  fur- 
nish homes  for  at  least  half  a  million  persons,  and  were 


320  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

probably  occupied  by  twice  that  number.  One  noted  in- 
stance of  a  carved-out  city  is  described  by  Mr.  Stevenson 
which  must  have  been  the  abode  of  at  least  one  hundred 
thousand  souls,  and  which  these  explorations  are  believed 
to  have  first  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  civilized 
world.  Mr.  Stevenson  first  heard  of  it  from  an  old  Indian 
chief  with  whom  he  sat  chatting  in  Spanish  one  evening, 
The  old  man  was  apparently  somewhat  disinclined  to  be 
communicative,  but  finally,  as  if  to  put  off  further  inquiry, 
said  : 

4.  "  You  wish  to  find  old  houses,  do  you  ?    Well,  I  will 
show  you  some.     They  are  about  twelve  miles  'from  here." 
The  weather  w.is  threatening  on  the  next  day,  and  the  old 
chief  could  not  be  induced  to  start  out ;  so  Mr.  Stevenson 
went  eight  or  ten  miles  in  the  direction  indicated,  and, 
finding  nothing  of  interest,  thought  he  had  been  deceived. 
Two  or  three  days  later  the  old  Indian  signified  his  readi- 
ness to  show  the  way  to  the  deserted  city.     Mounted  upon 
mules,  the  two  started  out  and  made  their  way  toward  a 
range  of  distant  hills,  from  behind  which  towered  an  ex- 
tinct volcano.     As  they  approached  the  foot-hills  Mr.  Stev- 
enson saw  large  numbers  of  black  spots  in  rows,  resembling 
swallows'  nests,  upon  the  face  of  a  cliff.     He  asked  his 
companion  what  they  were.     "  Houses,"  was  the  reply. 
"No,  not  those  on  top,"  said  Mr.   Stevenson.     "I  mean 
the  black  spots  on  the  cliff."     "  Houses  ! "  rejoined  the  old 
chief  ;  "houses,  I  tell  you — very  old  houses  !" 

5.  The  old  man  told  the  truth.     For  sixty  miles  along 
the  face  of  the  winding  cliff,  except  where  the  elements 
had  cut  them  away,  these  ancient  cave-dwellings  extended 
two,  three,  four,  and  sometimes  five  rows  one  above  an- 
other.    Mr.  Stevenson  examined  this  deserted  city  during 
several  days,  personally  visiting  portions  distant  forty-five 
miles  from  each  other,  and  discovering  with  his  glass  that 
the  excavations  extended  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  farther  on. 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT  WORKS.  321 

By  far  the  greater  number  are  inaccessible,  but  many  of 
the  old  paths,  worn  many  inches  deep  by  the  feet  of  the 
ancients  who  dwelt  there,  are  intact,  and  by  them  the  ex- 
plorer mounted  to  the  old  dwellings.  There  was  a  marked 
similarity  in  the  form  and  construction  of  these  excava- 
tions. There  was  only  one  aperture,  which  served  for  door, 
window,  and  chimney.  The  single  room  had  an  oval  roof, 
which  bore  the  grooves  made  by  the  flinty  adzes  or  axes  of 
the  excavators. 

6.  The  method  of  digging  or  carving  out  these  caves 
was  disclosed  by  the  form  and  direction  of  the  grooves, 
which  were  usually  parallel  to  each  other,  and  several  inches 
apart,  while  between,  as  shown  by  the  rough  surface  of 
the  stone,  the  remaining  substance  had  been  broken  off. 
There  were  fire-places  at  the  rear,  but  no  place  of  exit  for 
the  smoke  except  the  single  aperture  in  front.     Many  of 
the  dwellings  had  side  or  rear  excavations  of  small  size, 
within  some  of  which  corn-cobs  and  beans  were  found,  evi- 
dently left  by  chance  inhabitants  of  a  later  period.     Near 
the  roof  of  many  of  the  caves  there  were  mortises,  pro- 
jecting from  which  in  some  instances  there  were  discovered 
the  decayed  ends  of  wooden  sleepers.     They  were  of  a  kind 
of  wood  not  recognizable  as  a  present  growth  of  the  locality 
and  unknown  to  the  explorers.     Specimens  were  brought 
away,  to  be  examined  and  classified  by  naturalists.     In  the 
sides  of  some  dwellings  there  were  found  small  recesses, 
evidently  used  as  cupboards  for  the  household  utensils  of 
the  family.     The  substance  of  the  cliff  was  tufa,  a  volcanic 
ash  quite  soft  and  easily  worked  by  the  rude  implements  of 
the  old  builders. 

7.  Upon  the  top  of  the  Mesa  or  table-land  above  these 
caves  there  were  found  large  circular  structures,  now  in 
ruins,  but  with  walls  to  the  height  of  ten  or  twelve  feet 
still  standing.     They  were  evidently  places  of  worship. 
They  were  built  of  square  stones  of  nearly  uniform  size, 


322  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

about  twenty  inches  in  length  by  six  inches  in  width  and 
four  in  thickness,  cut  from  the  cliff.  Measurements  were 
made  of  two  of  these  structures,  one  of  which  was  one 
hundred  and  the  other  two  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  and 
might  have  held  from  one  to  two  thousand  people.  The 
inference  that  these  were  places  of  worship  is  drawn  from 
the  fact  that  the  Pueblos  of  the  present  day,  who  are  fire 
and  sun  worshipers,  have  similar  temples.  No  remains  of 
altars  were  found,  which  fact  is  doubtless  to  be  explained 
by  the  exposed  situation  and  the  soft  materials  probably 
used  in  the  construction  of  such  furniture. 

8.  The  southern  end  of  this  cave  city,  which  seemed  to 
have  been  the  most  densely  populated,  presented  many  evi- 
dences of  art  and  industry.     This  locality  is  more  broken, 
and  offers  a  better  chance  for  successful  resistance  to  the 
assaults  of  an  enemy.      There  were  found  many   animal 
forms  carved  out  of  stone.     In  one  place  there  were  two 
life-sized  mountain-lions,  animals  which  are  still  peculiar 
to  that  region.     There  are  also  to  be  seen  many  smaller 
animal  forms,  so  much  worn  away  that  it  can  not  be  deter- 
mined what  they  were  designed  to  represent.     Upon  stand- 
ing walls  in  this   neighborhood  are  many  hieroglyphics, 
which,  from  their  resemblance  to  the  picture-writing  of  the 
living  Pueblos,  may,  Mr.  Stevenson  thinks,  be  partially,  if 
not  entirely,  deciphered.    The  great  age  of  this  city  is  proved 
by  the  vast  accumulation  of  debris  from  the  upper  portion 
of  the  cliff,  which  covers  its  base.     In  places  where  mount- 
ain-brooks have  cut  their  way  through,  the  existence  of  one 
and  sometimes  two  rows  of  cave-dwellings  below  the  surface 
of  the  debris  is  disclosed.     Mr.  Stevenson  thinks  that  sev- 
eral centuries  have  passed  since  this  dead  city  was  in  its 
prime. 

9.  The  habits  and  customs  of  the  ancients  were  suffi- 
ciently disclosed,   by  the  researches  in  a  number  of  the 
ruined  towns,  to  show  a  striking  similarity  to  the  habits 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT  WORKS.  323 

and  customs  of  the  present  Pueblo  Indians,  and  to  prove, 
as  Mr.  Stevenson  believes,  that  the  latter  are  the  descend- 
ants of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  locality  where  they 
now  live,  and  from  which  they  are  fast  passing  away.  In 
nearly  every  household  of  the  Pueblos  of  the  present  day 
the  explorers  found  heirlooms — articles  of  ancient  pottery, 
household  utensils,  or  idols,  which  had  descended  from 
their  direct  ancestry  of  a  time  further  back  than  any  of  the 
living  could  remember.  These  objects  comprise  jars,  bowls, 
ladles,  dippers,  water- vases,  idols,  arrow-heads ;  and  many 
of  those  found  in  the  debris  of  ruined  towns  and  villages 
bore  decorations  exactly  similar  to  those  now  used  by  the 
Pueblos. 

10.  The  explorers  made  a  close  study  of  the  habits  and 
customs  of  the  living  Pueblo  Indians,  choosing  for  the  pur- 
pose such  communities  as  had  most  rarely  been  visited  by 
the  whites.  They  are  a  timid  and  secretive  people,  and  the 
investigation  in  this  regard  was  a  slow  one  ;  but  fair  results 
rewarded  patient  watching.  The  Pueblo  Indians  of  the 
present  day  are  as  skillful  in  pottery-making  as  were  their 
ancestors,  and  evidently  have  received  their  art  by  inherit- 
ance. The  potter's  wheel  is  unknown ;  the  only  imple- 
ments used  are  little  trowels,  made  of  clay  and  mortars 
and  pestles  of  stone,  the  latter  serving  to  reduce  to  a  pow- 
der the  mineral  substances  which  are  employed  in  part  for 
decorating  the  pottery.  The  clay  of  which  the  vessels  are 
made  is  of  a  fine  quality.  It  is  moistened  and  kneaded 
like  dough,  and  is  formed  by  the  hand  and  the  trowel  as 
desired.  A  number  of  the  unbaked  vessels  are  placed  to- 
gether, and  an  oven-shapen  pile  of  combustible  manure  is 
built  around  them  and  burned,  by  which  process  those  in- 
tended for  cooking  are  completed.  The  finer  vessels,  those 
designed  for  uses  which  will  not  impair  their  beauty,  are 
decorated  with  mineral  and  vegetable  paints.  They  are 
first  coated  with  a  fine  quality  of  white  clay,  which,  being 
22 


324:  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

allowed  to  dry,  receives  a  high  polish.  Upon  this  coating 
the  paints  are  applied  with  a  piece  of  rabbit-skin,  in  such 
designs  as  suit  the  fancy  of  the  artist.  One  species  of  jet- 
black  glossy  pottery  has  heretofore  been  a  puzzle  to  the 
investigators.  Its  glossy  coating  was  supposed  to  be  due 
to  some  kind  of  mineral  paint  known  only  to  the  Indians, 
but  is  now  known  to  be  the  result  of  a  process  which  fol- 
lows the  heating.  When  the  vessels  are  very  hot  they  are 
covered  with  a  second  pile  of  manure  in  a  pulverized  condi- 
tion. The  sudden  partial  cooling  of  the  vessels  causes 
them  to  absorb  the  smoke,  which  becomes  oxidized  upon 
their  outer  surfaces. 

11.  The  explorers  spent  a  considerable  time  with  the 
Zunis,   where   they  gathered  a  great  number  of  articles 
illustrating  almost  every  feature  of  their  home  life,  their 
religion,  their  arts  and  manufactures.     They  then  visited 
the  Moki,  situated  in  Southwestern  Arizona.     Moki  is  a 
generic  term  for  seven  Indian  towns  situated  on  the  sum- 
mits of  High  Mesas.      The  easternmost  of  the  villages, 
called  Walpi,  is  situated  on  a  table  elevated  about  twelve 
hundred  feet  above  the  surrounding  country,  with  precipi- 
tous sides,  and  comprising  barely  sufficient  area  to  accom- 
modate the  crowded  homes  of  the  villagers. 

12.  Five  hundred  yards  distant  is  a  similar  mesa  or 
table,  upon  which  another  crowded  village  is  built.     The 
inhabitants  of  these  two  villages  speak  the  same  language  ; 
but  it  is  an  interesting  and  singular  fact  that  the  dwellers 
upon  a  third  table,  situated  only  a  few  hundred  yards  dis- 
tant, speak  an  entirely  different  dialect.     The  people  and 
their  ancestors  are  supposed  to  have  dwelt  thus  as  neigh- 
bors for  centuries,  yet  in  their  ordinary  conversation  do 
not  understand  each  other  ;  and  in  their  restricted  inter- 
communication are  compelled  to  resort  to  the  use  of  sign- 
language.     Their  manners,  customs,  and  religions  are  very 
similar,  indicating  a  common  origin,  and  they  are  at  peace 


REMARKABLE  ANCIENT  WORKS.  325 

one  village  with  the  other.  About  ten  miles  to  the  west 
of  these  three  villages,  three  other  villages  similarly  situated 
are  found,  while  ten  miles  farther  on  is  the  westernmost 
of  the  Moki  villages,  called  Oraibi,  and  containing  a  popula- 
tion about  equal  to  the  aggregate  numbers  of  the  other  six 
villages. 

13.  Its  inhabitants  are  so  exclusive  that  they  do  not 
even  visit  the  Government  agency,  nor  have  they  ever  re- 
ceived any  annuities.  The  people  of  this  village  are  sub- 
ject to  influences  from  some  source  which  induce  them  to 
object  to  any  communication  with  the  whites.  When  the 
inhabitants  discovered  the  approach  of  the  exploring  party 
they  became  so  much  alarmed  that  they  abandoned  their 
homes,  leaving  only  the  aged  and  bedridden.  The  oppor- 
tunity was  thus  presented  to  the  party  to  make  their  in- 
vestigations in  the  homes  of  the  people  at  their  leisure.  A 
series  of  fine  photographic  views  of  exteriors  and  interiors 
was  obtained,  but  it  was  thought  best  not  to  carry  away 
any  of  the  utensils  or  curious  articles  of  furniture  with 
which  the  village  homes  were  filled.  Mr.  Hillers,  the 
photographer,  had  once  before  visited  this  village  with 
Major  Powell,  and  had  secured  a  few  photographic  nega- 
tives ;  but  the  result  of  the  last  visit  was  much  more  com- 
plete and  satisfactory.  The  people  of  the  seven  villages 
manufacture  a  variety  of  interesting  articles,  such  as  sacred 
blankets,  decorative  basketing,  and  ornamental  objects  of 
worship,  a  large  number  of  which  were  secured  by  purchase 
and  exchange.  In  their  vicinity  are  the  ruins  of  the  vil- 
lages and  cities  of  their  ancestors,  which  remain  in  such 
a  condition  that  a  favorable  opportunity  was  offered  for 
determining  the  state  of  civilization  of  the  ancient  inhab- 
itants. Mr.  Stevenson  estimates  the  number  of  Zunis  at 
about  fifteen  hundred,  of  Mokis  about  twenty-five  hundred, 
and  of  the  remaining  Pueblos  from  three  to  five  hundred. 
He  believes  they  will  soon  disappear. 


PART  XX. 
MISCELLANEO  US. 


THE    SALT    MINES    OF   WIELICZKA. 

1.  EVERYBODY  who  reads  the  "  Wonders  of  the  World  " 
in  the  chimney-corner,  in  the  long  winter  evenings,  as  I 
have  done,  has  heard  of  the  salt  mines  of  Wieliczka.     The 
account  of  this  subterranean  saline  world  made  a  profound 
impression  upon  me  when  a  youngster,  and  I  diverged  a 
little  from  my  direct  route  to  visit  it.     All  wonders  which 
we  first  hear  of  in  the  dear  secluded  nest  of  home  most  at- 
tract us  after  our  wings  have  grown  and  we  have  become 
restless  birds  of  passage  ;  but  not  all  retain  the  old  magic 
after  we  behold  them. 

2.  In  company  with  a  professor  from  St.  Petersburg,  we 
left  Cracow  this  morning,  crossed  the  Vistula,  and  drove 
eastward  through  a  low,  undulating  country,  covered  with 
fields  of  rye,  oats,  and  potatoes.     The  village  of  Wieliczka 
occupies  a  charming  situation  on  the  northern  slope  of  a 
long,  wood-crowned  hill.     The  large  store-houses  for  the 
salt,  the  government  offices,  and  the  residences  of  the  su- 
perintendents on  a  slight  eminence  near  the  foot,  first  strike 
the  eye.    After  procuring  a  permit  from  the  proper  official, 
we  presented  ourselves  at  the  office,  over  the  mouth  of  the 
mine,  in  company  with  five  Prussian  travelers,  two  of  them 
ladies,  and  a  wandering  German  mechanic,  who  had  tramped 


MISCELLANEO  US. 


327 


out  from  Cracow  in  the  hope  of  seeing  the  place.  "We  were 
enveloped  in  long,  coarse  blouses  of  white  linen,  and,  hav- 
ing bespoken  a  supply  of  Bengal  lights,  a  door  was  opened, 
and  we  commenced  descending  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth 
by  an  easy  staircase  in  a  square  shaft.  Six  boys,  carrying 
flaring  lamps,  were  distributed  among  our  party,  and  one 
of  the  superintendents  assumed  the  office  of  conductor. 


The  Salt  Mines  of  WieliczJca. 

3.  After  descending  two  hundred  and  ten  feet,  we  saw 
the  first  veins  of  rock-salt  in  a  bed  of  clay  and  crumbled 
sandstone.  Thirty  feet  more,  and  we  were  in  a  world  of 
salt.  Level  galleries  branched  off  from  the  foot  of  the 
staircase  ;  overhead  a  ceiling  of  solid  salt,  underfoot  a  floor 
of  salt,  and  on  either  side  dark-gray  walls  of  salt,  sparkling 
here  and  there  with  minute  crystals.  Lights  glimmered 


328  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

ahead,  and  on  turning  a  corner  we  came  upon  a  gang  of 
workmen,  some  hacking  away  at  the  solid  floor,  others 
trundling  wheelbarrows  full  of  the  precious  cubes.  Here 
was  the  chapel  of  St.  Anthony,  the  oldest  in  the  mines — a 
Byzantine  excavation,  supported  by  columns,  with  altar, 
crucifix,  and  life-size  statues  of  saints,  apparently  in  black 
marble,  but  all  as  salt  as  Lot's  wife,  as  I  discovered  by  put- 
ting my  tongue  to  the  nose  of  John  the  Baptist. 

4.  I  can  not  follow  step  by  step  our  journey  of  two 
hours  through  the  labyrinths  of  this  wonderful  mine.    It  is 
a  bewildering  maze  of  galleries,  grand  halls,  staircases,  and 
vaulted  chambers,  where  one  soon  loses  all  sense  of  distance 
or  direction,  and  drifts  along  blindly  in  the  wake  of  his 
conductor.     Everything  was  solid  salt,  except  where  great 
piers  of  hewn  logs  had  been  built  up  to  support  some 
threatening  roof,  or  vast  chasms,  left  in  quarrying,  had 
been  bridged  across.     As  we  descended  to  lower  regions, 
the  air  became  more  dry  and  agreeable  and  the  saline  walls 
more  pure  and  brilliant.     One  hall,  a  hundred  and  eight 
feet  in  height,  resembled  a  Grecian  theatre,  the  traces  of 
blocks  taken  out  in  regular  layers  representing  the  seats 
for  the  spectators.     Out  of  this  single  hall  a  million  hun- 
dred-weight of  salt  had  been  taken,  or  enough  to  supply 
forty  million  inhabitants  of  Austria  for  one  year. 

5.  A  little  farther,  we  struck  upon  a  lake  four  fathoms 
deep,  upon  which  we  embarked  in  a  heavy  square  boat,  and 
entered  a  gloomy  tunnel,  over  the  entrance  of  which  was 
inscribed  (in  salt  letters)  "  Good  luck  to  you."     In  such  a 
place  the  motto  seemed  ironical.     "Abandon  hope,  all  ye 
who  enter  here,"  would  have  been  more  appropriate.     Mid- 
way in  the  tunnel  the  halls  at  either  end  were  suddenly 
illuminated,  and  a  crash  as  of  a  hundred  cannon  bellowing 
through  the  hollow  vaults  shook  the  air  and  water  in  such 
wise  that  our  boat  had  not  ceased  trembling  when  we  land- 
ed in  the  farther  hall. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  329 

6.  A  tablet  inscribed  "  Heartily  welcome  ! "  saluted  us 
on  landing.     Finally,  at  the  depth  of  four  hundred  and 
fifty  feet,  our  journey  ceased,  although  we  were  but  half- 
way to  the  bottom.     The  remainder  is  a  wilderness  of 
shafts,  galleries,  and  smaller  chambers,  the  extent  of  which 
we   could   only  conjecture.      We   then   returned  through 
scores  of  tortuous  passages  to  some  vaults  where  a  lot  of 
gnomes,  naked  to  the  hips,  were  busy  with  pick,  mallet, 
and  wedge,  blocking  out  and  separating  the  solid  pavement. 
The  process  is  quite  primitive,  scarcely  differing  from  that 
of  the  ancient  Egyptians  in  quarrying  granite.     The  blocks 
are  first  marked  on  the  surface  by  a  series  of  grooves.     One 
side  is  then  deepened  to  the  required  thickness,  and,  wedges 
being  inserted  under  the  block,  it  is  soon  split  off.     It  is 
then  split  transversely  into  pieces  of  a  hundred- weight  each, 
in  which  form  it  is  ready  for  sale.     Those  intended  for 
Russia  are  rounded  on  the  edges  and  corners,  until  they 
acquire  the  shape  of  large  cocoons,  for  the  convenience  of 
transportation  into  the  interior  of  the  country. 

7.  The  number  of  workmen  employed  in  the  mines  is 
fifteen  hundred,  all  of  whom  belong  to  the  "upper  crust," 
that  is,  they  live  on  the  outside  of  the  world.     They  are 
divided  into  gangs,  and  relieve  each  other  every  six  hours. 
Each  gang  quarries  out  on  an  average  a  little  more  than 
seven  thousand  hundred- weight  of  salt  in  that  space  of  time, 
making  the  annual  yield  one  million  five  hundred  thousand 
hundred-weight !     The  men  we  saw  were  fine,  muscular, 
healthy-looking  fellows,  and  the  officer,  in  answer  to  my 
questions,  stated  that  their  sanitary  condition  was  quite 
equal  to  that  of  the  field  laborers. 

8.  The  officer  explicitly  denied  the  story  of  men  having 
been  born  in  these  mines,  and  having  gone  through  life 
without  ever  mounting  to  the  upper  world.     So  there  goes 
another  interesting  fiction  of  our  youth. 

9.  It  requires  a  stretch  of  imagination  to  conceive  the 


330  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

extent  of  this  salt  bed.  As  far  as  explored,  its  length  is 
two  and  a  half  English  miles,  its  breadth  a  little  over  half 
a  mile,  and  its  solid  depth  six  hundred  and  ninety  feet ! 
It  commences  about  two  hundred  feet  below  the  surface, 
and  is  then  uninterrupted  to  the  bottom,  where  it  rests  on 
a  bed  of  compact  sandstone  such  as  forms  the  peaks  of  the 
Carpathian  Mountains.  Below  this,  there  is  no  probability 
that  it  again  reappears.  The  general  direction  is  east  and 
west,  dipping  rapidly  at  its  western  extremity,  so  that  it 
may  no  doubt  be  pushed  much  farther  in  that  direction. 
Notwithstanding  the  immense  amount  already  quarried, 
and  it  will  be  better  understood  when  I  state  that  the 
aggregate  length  of  the  shafts  and  galleries  amounts  to 
four  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  it  is  estimated  that,  at 
the  present  rate  of  production,  the  known  supply  can  not 
be  exhausted  under  three  hundred  years. 

Bayard  Taylor. 


THE    VARANGER    FIORD. 

1.  THE  Varanger  Fiord,  to  which  so  important  a  politi- 
cal interest  has  been  attached  within  the  last  few  years,  is 
about  seventy  miles  in  length,  with  a  general  direction 
toward  the  southwest.  The  boundary  line  between  Nor- 
wegian and  Russian  Finmark  strikes  it  upon  the  southern 
side,  about  half  way  from  the  mouth,  so  that  three  fourths 
or  more  of  the  waters  of  the  fiord  belong  to  Norway. 
There  is,  however,  a  wonderful  boundary  line  in  addition, 
drawn  by  Nature,  between  the  alien  waters.  That  last 
wave  of  the  Gulf  Stream  which  washes  the  North  Cape, 
3,nd  keeps  the  fiords  of  Finmark  open  and  unfrozen  the 
whole  year  through,  sweeps  eastward  along  the  coast  until 
it  reaches  the  head  of  Varanger  Fiord.  Here  its  power  is 


MISCELLANEOUS.  331 

at  last  spent,  and  from  this  point  commences  that  belt  of 
solid  ice  which  locks  up  the  harbors  of  the  northern  coast 
of  Russia  for  six  months  in  the  year.  The  change  from 
open  water  to  ice  is  no  less  abrupt  than  permanent. 

2.  The  little  fort  of  Vordohuus,  on  an  island  at  the 
northern  entrance  of  the  fiord,  is  not  a  recent  defense, 
meant  to  check  Russian  plans  in  this  quarter.      It  was 
established  by  Christian  IV  nearly  two  and  a  half  centuries 
ago.      The  king  himself  made  a  voyage  hither,   and  no 
doubt  at  that  time  foresaw  the  necessity  of  establishing,  by 
military  occupation,  the  claims  of  Denmark  to  this  part  of 
the  coast.     The  little  fortress  has  actually  done  this  ser- 
vice ;  and  though  a  single  frigate  might  easily  batter  it  to 
pieces,  its  existence  has  kept  Russia  from  the  ownership  of 
the  Varanger  Fiord  and  the  creation  (as  is  diplomatically 
supposed)   of  an   immense   naval   station,   which,   though 
within  the  Arctic  waters,  would  at  all  times  of  the  year  be 
ready  for  service. 

3.  It  is  well  known  that  Russia  has  endeavored  to  ob- 
tain possession  of  the  northern  side  of  the  fiord,  as  well  as 
the  Lyngen  Fiord,  near  Tromsoe,  toward  which  her  Lapland 
territory  stretches  out  a  long  arm.     England  is  particularly 
suspicious  of  these  attempts,  and  the  treaty  recently  con- 
cluded between  the  allied  powers  and  Sweden  had  a  special 
reference  thereto.     The  importance  of  such  an  acquisition 
to  Russia  is  too  obvious  to  be  pointed  out,  and  the  jealous 
watchfulness  of  England  is,  therefore,  easy  to  understand. 
But  it  is  a  singular  thing  that  the  conflicting  forces  of 
Europe  find  a  fulcrum  on  a  little  corner  of  this  dead,  deso- 
late, God-forsaken  shore. 

Bayard  Taylor* 


332  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


GATE   AT    NAN-KOW. 

1.  WE  have  done  it !    We  have  seen  the  Great  Wall. 
We  have  scaled  its  ramparts,  walked  through  its  gates,  ex- 
amined its  bastions,  trodden  its  parapet,  looked  off  from  its 
battlements,  and  rested  under  its  shade.     Regarding  this 
as  the  greatest  achievement  of  our  journey  thus  far,  we 
should  desire  to  set  down  minutely  and  deliberately  each 
one  of  its  incidents ;  but,  hurried  as  we  are  by  threatening 
winter,  we  have  only  time  to  describe  the  prominent  feat- 
ures and  record  an  occasional  thought. 

2.  From  the  very  gate  at  Nan-Kow  we  found  neither 
regular  road  nor  marked  nor  beaten  track,  but  a  ravine 
which,  in  the  lapse  of  ages,  a  torrent  has  excavated  down 
the  mountain,   falling  a  thousand   feet  in   a  distance  of 
twelve  miles.     Our  upward  way  lay  in  the  rugged  furrow 
of  this  torrent.     Each  passenger  was  lashed  tightly  in  his 
"mountain"  chair,  which  is  simply  an  arm-chair  mounted 
on  two  shafts  and  borne  by  four  coolies,  his  safety  depend- 
ing on  the  tenacity  with  which  his  feet  press  against  a 
swinging  board   suspended   before   him   from   the   shafts. 
The  coolies  pick  their  way  by  crossing  from  one  side  to 
the  other  over  uneven,  broken  bowlders  and  rocks,  and 
through  deep  gullies.     The  passenger  at  one  moment   is 
in  danger  of  slipping  out  backward  from  his  chair,  at  an- 
other from  being  thrown  out  one  side  or  the  other,  and 
again  of  being  dashed  headlong  on  the  rocks  before  him. 
In  some  places  the  torrent  is   dry,   in  others  the  coolies 
are  slipping  over  treacherous  ice5   or   splashing  through 
pools  of  water  among  rounded  pebbles  and  sharp  rocks ; 
in  short,  over  everything  but  dry  earth.     Steep  mountains 
exclude  the  sun's  light  and  heat  at  all  hours  of  the  day. 
Those  mountains  are  timberless,  tenantless,  dry,  and  brown. 
The  geological  formation  of  the  pass  is  an  alternation  of 


MISCELLANEO  US. 


333 


granite,  gneiss,  red  and  yellow  sandstone,  porphyry,  and 
marble. 

3.  Having  said  that  our  road  has  none  of  the  qualities 
and  conditions  of  a  thoroughfare,  it  will  seem  strange  when 


Gate  at  Nau-Kow. 


we  now  say  that  at  intervals  we  encounter  through  the 
whole  pass  blocks  of  hewn  and  polished  marble,  with  other 
debris  of  pavements,  culverts,  bridges,  arches,  and  gates, 
indicating  that  it  was  once  a  military  road,  superior  to  the 
Appian  Way  of  Borne., 


334  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

4.  We  met,  in  one  of  the  most  fearful  gorges,  a  magnifi- 
cent crimson  wedding-car,  which  was  coming  down  from 
Kiakhta  to  receive  a  bride  at  Peking.     We  encounter  on 
the  way  a  class  of  travelers  that  we  have  not  before  met. 
They  come  down  in  sedan-chairs,  mule-litters,  or  carts,  but 
on  horses,  camels,  and  donkeys  ;  and  of  these  there  is  an 
3ndless  procession.     The  beasts  are  loaded  with  wheat,  bar- 
ley, hemp,  flax,  and  wool.     Thirty  camels  make  up  a  single 
train.     One  man  leads  each  six  of  the  beasts  by  means  of  a 
cord,  to  which  the  halter  of  each  is  attached.     Rocking 
from  side  to  side,  and  unceasingly  chewing  their  cuds  as 
they  move  slowly  along,  they  excite  interest  by  their  pa- 
tience, docility,  and  perseverance.     Rough  and  vehement  as 
the  camel-driver  seems,  we  have  not  seem  him  inflict  a  blow 
or  utter  a  word  of  impatience  toward  the  gentle  beasts. 

5.  Another  class  of  travelers  are  herdsmen.     Mongolia 
and  Mantchooria,  beyond. the  Great  Wall,  are  pasturages, 
and  the  flocks  of  sheep  and  herds  of  cattle  which  are  raised 
there  are  brought  chiefly  through  this  pass,  to  be  spread 
over  the  great  plain   of  North   China.     The  Mongolians 
dress  altogether  in  furs  and  skins.     They  have  an  air  of 
independence   and    intelligence   not   observable   in   China 
proper.     The  women  are  particularly  strong,  and,  as  we 
judge  from  their  manner,  entirely  free.     Their  furs  are 
richer  than  those  of  the  men,  and  they  wear  a  profusion  of 
silver  ornaments  on  the  forehead,  wrist,  and  ankle,  as  well 
as  suspended  from  their  ears  and  nose.     They  travel  with 
their  husbands,  who  divide  with  them  the  care  of  the  chil- 
dren.   If  it  is  discouraging  to  some  at  home  to  wait  for  the 
restoration  of  woman's  rights,  it  is  pleasant  to  find  her  in 
the  full  enjoyment  of  them  here,  in  spite  of  Oriental  preju- 
dices and  superstitions.      The   mountain   cliffs  are   orna- 
mented at  convenient  and  prominent  points  with -pretty 
temples  and  unique  shrines,  and  pious  devices  and  legends 
are  carved  on  what  seem  to  be  inaccessible  basaltic  rocks. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  335 

But  the  temples  and  shrines,  no  longer  attended  by  vota- 
ries, are  falling  into  ruin. 

6.  Beaching  at  length  the  source  of  the  mountain  tor- 
rent which  has  made  such  a  fearful  devastation,  we  found 
ourselves  in  a  dell  surrounded  by  mountains,   and  from 
their  crest  the  Great  Wall  encircling  and  frowning  down 
upon  us. 

7.  Our  chairmen  at  once,  with  renewed  vigor  and  elas- 
ticity, carried  us  up  a  rugged  declivity  of  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  clambering  ever  shivered  and  shattered  rocks,  and  set 
us  down  within  a  redoubt  at  the  very  base  of  the  wall,  three 
hundred  feet  above  the  dell  which  we  had  left.     The  wall 
varies  in  height  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  feet.     The  base 
here,  twenty  feet  high,  is  built  of  solid,  hewn  granite.     We 
were  not  long  in  ascending  the  well-preserved  flight  of  stone 
steps  which  led  to  the  parapet.    The  top  of  the  wall  is  wide 
enough  for  two  carriages  to  pass.     From  the  parapet  we 
contemplated  the  conquered  China  of  the  past,  which  was 
below  us,  and  the  conquering  Tartary  of  the  past,  which 
was  above  us,  both  now  under  one  regime,  and  constituting 
one  vast  but  crumbling  empire.     In  the  embrasures  of  the 
parapet  we  found  here  and  there  a  cast-iron  grooved  cannon 
of  four-pound  caliber.     It  passed  our  comprehension  to 
conceive  when  it  was  put  there,  or  for  what  purpose.     We 
entered  a  watch-tower  on  our  left,  and  saw,  at  a  distance  of 
forty  miles,  murky  Peking. 

8.  The  Great  Wall  crosses  twenty-one  degrees  of  longi- 
tude from  the  Pacific  coast  to  the  desert  border  of  Thibet, 
and  with  its  windings  has  a  length  of  from  twelve  hundred 
to  fifteen  hundred  miles.     It  seems  almost  incredible  that 
this  gigantic  structure — the  greatest  fortification  that  has 
been  built  by  human  hands — could  have  been  raised  in  the 
short  space  of  about  twenty  years.     Yet  history  assures  us 
that  Chin-Wangti  began  the  work  in  the  year  240  B.  c.,  and 
finished  it  in  the  year  220  B.  c.     Nor  is  the  perfection  of 


336  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

the  work  less  wonderful  than  the  dispatch  with  which  it 
was  built.  Although  it  here  and  there  exhibits  crumbling 
arches  and  falling  ramparts,  it  nevertheless  stands  more 
firmly  and  in  better  preservation  than  any  ancient  struct- 
ure, except  perhaps  the  Pyramids.  Very  slight  repairs 
would  restore  it  to  its  original  state. 

Seward's  Travels. 


EARTHQUAKE  IN  THE  EAST  INDIES. 

1.  SOUTH  of  Borneo,  and  east  of  Java,  lies  the  island 
called  Sumbawa.     Forty  years  ago  a  portion  of  that  island 
was  well  cultivated  and  rather  thickly  populated.     On  the 
5th  of  April,  1815,  an  earthquake  began.     It  was  not  de- 
structive at  first,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Tom- 
boro,  who  were  accustomed  to  similar  phenomena,  paid  but 
little  attention  to  it.      It  continued  without  increase  of 
violence  for  six  days.     On  the  llth  the  rumbling  subterra- 
nean sounds  became  louder,  and  resembled  thunder-claps. 
The   ground  heaved   more   violently.      On   the  12th  the 
earthquake  acquired  unprecedented  force.     It  swept  over 
the  island  like  a  tornado,  tearing  up  trees  by  the  roots  and 
hurling  them  into  the  sea.     It  dashed  the  whole  town  to 
atoms.    Out  of  a  population  of  twelve  thousand  only  twenty- 
six  persons  escaped  alive.     The  sea  rushed  in  upon  the  land 
in  a  single  wave,  varying  from  two  to  twenty  feet  in  height. 
In  some  places  it  receded  after  having  overflowed  the  soil. 
In  others  it  submerged  it  permanently  to  a  depth  of  eigh- 
teen feet,  showing  that  the  ground  must  have  sunk  to  that 
extent. 

2.  At  the  same  time  an  adjoining  volcano   burst  into 
eruption,  with  a  roaring  sound  which  was  heard  distinctly 
at  Sumatra,   nine  hundred  and  seventy  miles  distant,  on 


MISCELLANEOUS.  337 

one  side,  and  at  Temate  on  another  side,  at  seven  hundred 
and  twenty  miles  distance.  It  threw  out  lava  in  huge 
streams,  which  hid  the  ground,  and  such  immense  clouds 
of  ashes,  that  Sir  Stamford  Raffles,  then  governor. of  Java, 
positively  certifies  that  they  darkened  the  air  till  the  day 
seemed  as  dark  as  the  darkest  night.  These  ashes  rose  in 
the  air  above  the  lower  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  in  which 
the  monsoon  prevailed  at  the  time,  and  were  carried  as  far 
as  the  island  of  Amboyna,  eight  hundred  miles  distant. 
Masses  of  ashes,  cinders,  and  lava  fell  into  the  sea  near 
Sumbawa  in  such  quantities  as  to  form  a  cake  two  feet 
thick  on  the  surface,  through  which  ships  forced  them- 
selves with  difficulty. 


VISIT  TO  KILAUEA,  SANDWICH   ISLANDS. 

1.  WE  left  the  village  of  Hilo  on  the  coast  at  half  past 
seven  in  the  morning.  The  first  part  of  our  way  lay  along 
the  flat  ground,  gay  with  bright  scarlet  Guernsey  lilies,  and 
shaded  by  cocoa-nut  trees,  between  the  town  and  the  sea. 
Then  we  struck  off  to  the  right,  and  soon  left  the  town  be- 
hind us,  emerging  into  the  open  country.  At  a  distance 
from  the  sea,  Hilo  looks  as  green  as  the  Emerald  Isle  itself ; 
but  on  a  closer  inspection  the  grass  turns  out  to  be  coarse 
and  dry,  and  many  of  the  trees  look  scrubby  and  half  dead. 
Except  in  the  "gulches"  and  the  deep  holes,  between  the 
hills,  the  island  is  covered  with  lava,  in  many  places  of  so 
recent  a  deposit  that  it  has  not  yet  had  time  to  decompose, 
and  there  is  consequently  only  a  thin  layer  of  soil  on  its 
surface.  This  soil  being,  however,  very  rich,  vegetation 
flourishes  luxuriantly  for  a  time ;  but  as  soon  as  the  roots 
have  penetrated  a  certain  depth,  and  have  come  into  con- 


338  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

tact  with  the  lava,  the  trees  wither  up  and  perish,  like  the 
seed  that  fell  on  stony  ground. 

2.  The  ohia  trees  form  a  handsome  feature  in  the  land- 
scape, with  their  thick,  tall  stems,  glossy  foliage,  and  light 
crimson  flowers.     The  fruit  is  a  small,  pink,  waxy-looking 
apple,  slightly  acid,   pleasant  to  the  taste  when  you  are 
thirsty.     The  candle-nut  trees  attain  to  a  large  size,  and 
their  light  green  foliage  and  white  flowers  have  a  very  grace- 
ful appearance.     Most  of  the  foliage,  however,  is  spoiled  by 
a  deposit  of  black  dust,  not  unlike  what  one  sees  on  the 
leaves  in  a  London  garden.     I  do  not  know  whether  this  is 
caused  by  the  fumes  of  the  not-far-distant  volcano,  or 
whether  it  is  some  kind  of  mold  or  fungus. 

3.  After  riding  about  ten  miles  in  the  blazing  sun  we 
reached  a  forest,  where  the  vegetation  was  quite  tropical, 
though  not  so  varied  in  its  beauties  as  that  of  Brazil,  or  of 
the  still  more  lovely  South  Sea  Islands.     There  were  ferns 
of  various  descriptions  in  the  forest,  and  many  fine  trees, 
entwined,  supported,  or  suffocated  by  numerous  climbing 
plants,  among  which  were  blue  and  lilac  convolvulus,  and 
magnificent  passion-flowers.     The  protection  from  the  sun 
afforded  by  this  dense  mass  of  foliage  was  extremely  grate- 
ful ;  but  the  air  of  the  forest  was  close  and  stifling,  and  at 
the  end  of  five  miles  we  were  glad  to  emerge  once  more  into 
the  open.     The  rest  of  the  way  lay  over  the  hard  lava, 
through  a  sort  of  desert  of  scrubby  vegetation,  occasionally 
relieved  by  clumps  of  trees  in  hollows.     More  than  once  we 
had  a  fine  view  of  the  sea,  stretching  away  into  the  far  dis- 
tance, though  it  was  sometimes  mistaken  for  the  bright 
blue  sky,  until  the  surf  could  be  seen  breaking  upon  the 
black  rocks,  amid  the  encircling  groves  of  cocoa-nut  trees. 

4.  The  sun  shone  fiercely  at  intervals,  and  the  rain  came 
down  several  times  in  torrents.     The  pace  was  slow,  the 
road  was  dull  and  dreary,  and  many  were  the  inquiries 
made  for  the  "Half-way  House"  long  before  we  reached 


MISCELLANEOUS.  339 

it.  We  had  still  two  miles  farther  to  go,  in  the  course  of 
which  we  were  drenched  by  a  heavy  shower.  At  last  we 
came  to  a  native  house,  crowded  with  people,  where  they 
were  making  tappa  or  Jcapa — the  cloth  made  from  the  bark 
of  the  paper-mulberry.  Here  we  stopped  for  a  few  minutes 
until  our  guide  hurried  us  on,  pointing  out  the  church  and 
the  "Half-way  House"  just  ahead. 

5.  We  were  indeed  glad  to  dismount  after  our  weary 
ride,  and  rest  in  the  comfortable  rocking-chairs  under  the 
veranda.     It  is  a  small  white  wooden  building,  overhung 
with  orange-trees,  with  a  pond  full  of  ducks  and  geese  out- 
side it,  and  a  few  scattered  outbuildings,  including  a  cook- 
ing hut,  close  by.     A  good-looking  man  was  busy  broiling 
beef-steaks,  stewing  chickens,  and  boiling  taro,  and  we  had 
soon  a  plentiful  repast  set  before  us,  with  the  very  weakest 
of  weak  tea  as  a  beverage. 

6.  Directly  we   had   finished   our   meal  —  about   three 
o'clock — the  guide  came  and  tried  to  persuade  us  that,  as 
the  baggage-mules  had  not  yet  arrived,  it  would  be  too  late 
for  us  to  go  on  to-day,  and  that  we  had  better  spend  the 
night  where  we  were,  and  start  early  in  the  morning.     We 
did  not,  however,  approve  of  this  arrangement,  so  the  horses 
were  saddled,  and,  leaving  word  that  the  baggage-mules 
were  to  follow  on  as  soon  as  possible,  we  mounted,  and  set 
off  for  the  "  Volcano  House."     We  had  not  gone  far  before 
we  were  again  overtaken  by  a  shower,  which  once  more 
drenched  us  to  the  skin. 

7.  When  we  emerged  from  the  wood,  we  found  ourselves 
at  the  very  edge  of  the  old  crater,  the  bed  of  which,  three 
or  four  hundred  feet  beneath  us,  was  surrounded  by  steep 
and  in  many  places  overhanging  sides.     It  looked  like  an 
enormous  caldron,  four  or  five  miles  in  width,  full  of  a 
mass  of  cooled  pitch.     In  the  center  was  the  still  glowing 
stream  of  dark-red  lava,  flowing  slowly  toward  us,  and  in 
every  direction  were  red-hot  patches,  and  flames  and  smoke 

23 


34:0  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

issuing  from  the  ground.  A  bit  of  the  " black  country" 
at  night,  with  all  the  coal-heaps  on  fire,  would  give  you 
some  idea  of  the  scene. 

8.  Twenty  minutes'  hard  riding  brought  us  to  the  door 
of  the  "  Volcano  House, "from  which  issued  the  comforting 
light  of  a  large  wood  fire,  reaching  half-way  up  the  chim- 
ney.    The  grandeur  of  the  view  in  the  direction  of  the  vol- 
cano increased  as  the  evening  wore  on.     The  fiery  cloud 
above  the  present  crater  augmented  in  size  and  depth  of 
color  ;  the  extinct  crater  glowed  red  in  thirty  or  forty  dif- 
ferent places  ;  and  clouds  of  white  vapor  issued  from  every 
crack  and  crevice  in  the  ground,  adding  to  the  sulphurous 
smell  with  which  the  atmosphere  was  laden.     Our  room 
faced  the  volcano  ;  there  were  no  blinds,  and  I  drew  back 
the  curtains  and  lay  watching  the  splendid  scene  until  I 
fell  asleep. 

9.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  set  out,  a  party 
of  eight  with  two  guides.     First  of  all,  we  descended  the 
precipice,  three  hundred  feet  in  depth,  forming  the  wall  of 
the  old  crater,  but  now  thickly  covered  with  vegetation.    It 
is  so  steep  in  many  places  that  flights  of  zigzag  wooden 
steps  have  been  inserted  in  the  face  of  the  cliff  in  some 
places,  in  order  to  render  the  descent  practicable.     At  the 
bottom  we  stepped  straight  on  to  the  surface  of  cold  boiled 
lava,  which  we  had  seen  from  above  last  night.    Even  here, 
in  every  crevice  where  a  few  grains  of  soil  had  collected, 
delicate  little  ferns  might  be  seen  struggling  for  life,  and 
thrusting  out  their  green  fronds  toward  the  light.     It  was 
the  most  extraordinary  walk  imaginable  over  that  vast  plain 
of  lava,  twisted  and  distorted  into  every  conceivable  shape 
and  form,  according  to  the  temperature  it  had  originally 
attained,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  it  had  cooled,  its  sur- 
face, like  half-molten  glass,  cracking  and  breaking  beneath 
our  feet.     Sometimes  we  came  to  a  patch  that  looked  like 
the  contents  of  a  pot,  suddenly  petrified  in  the  act  of  boil- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  341 

ing ;  sometim.es  the  black  iridescent  lava  had  assumed  the 
form  of  waves,  or  more  frequently  of  huge  masses  of  rope, 
twisted  and  coiled  together  ;  sometimes  it  was  piled  up  like 
a  collection  of  organ-pipes,  or  had  gathered  into  mounds 
and  cones  of  various  dimensions. 

10.  As  we  proceeded,  the  lava  became  hotter  and  hotter, 
and  from  every  crack  arose  gaseous  fumes,  affecting  our 
noses  and  throats  in  a  painful  manner ;  till  at  last,  when 
we  had  to  pass  to  leeward  of  the  molten  stream  flowing 
from  the  lake,  the  vapors  almost  choked  us,  and  it  was  with 
difficulty  we  continued  to  advance.      The  lava  was  more 
glassy  and  transparent-looking,  as  if  it  had  been  fused  at  a 
higher  temperature  than  usual ;  and  the  crystals  of  sulphur, 
alum,  and  other  minerals,  with  which  it  abounded,  reflected 
the  light  in  bright  prismatic  colors.     In  places  it  was  -quite 
transparent,  and  we  could  see  beneath  it  the  long  streaks  of 
a  stringy  kind  of  lava,  like  brown  spun  glass,  called  "  Pele's 
hair."  ," 

11.  At  last  we  reached  the  foot  of  the  present  crater, 
and  commenced  the  ascent  of  the  outer  wall.     Many  times 
the  thin  crust  gave  way  beneath  our  guide,  and  he  had  to 
retire  quickly  from  the  hot,  blinding,  choking  fumes  that 
immediately  burst  forth.     But  we  succeeded  in  reaching 
the  top  ;  and  then  what  a  sight  presented  itself  to  our  as- 
tonished eyes  !    I  could  neither  speak  nor  move  at  first,  but 
could  only  stand  and  gaze  at  the  terrible  grandeur  of  the 
scene. 

12.  We  were  standing  on  the  extreme  edge  of  a  preci- 
pice, overhanging  a  lake  of  molten  fire,  a  hundred  feet  be- 
low us,  and  nearly  a  mile  across.    Dashing  against  the  cliffs 
on  the  opposite  side,  with  a  noise  like  the  roar  of  a  stormy 
ocean,  waves  of  blood-red,   fiery  liquid   lava  hurled  their 
billows  upon  an  iron-bound  headland,  and  then  rushed  up 
the  face  of  the  cliffs  to  toss  their  gory  spray  high  in  the  air. 
The  restless,  heaving  lake  boiled  -and  bubbled,  never  re- 


342  GEOGRAPHICAL  EVADES. 

maining  the  same  for  two  minutes  together.  Its  normal 
color  seemed  to  be  a  dull  dark  red,  covered  with  a  thin 
gray  scum,  which  every  moment  and  in  every  part  swelled 
and  cracked,  and  emitted  fountains,  cascades,  and  whirl- 
pools of  yellow  and  red  fire,  while  sometimes  one  big  golden 
river,  sometimes  four  or  five,  flowed  across  it.  There  was 
an  island  on  one  side  of  the  lake,  which  the  fiery  waves 
seemed  to  attack  unceasingly  with  relentless  fury,  as  if  bent 
on  hurling  it  from  its  base.  On  the  other  side  was  a  large 
cavern,  into  which  the  burning  mass  rushed  with  a  loud 
roar,  breaking  down  in  its  impetuous  headlong  career  the 
gigantic  stalactites  that  overhung  the  mouth  of  the  cave, 
and  flinging  up  the  liquid  material  for  the  formation  of 
fresh  ones. 

13.  It  was  all  terribly  grand,  magnificently  sublime ; 
but  no  words  could  adequately  describe  such  a  scene.  The 
precipice  on  which  we  were  standing  overhung  the  crater  so 
much  that  it  was  impossible  to  see  what  was  going  on  im- 
mediately beneath ;  but,  from  the  columns  of  smoke  and 
vapor  that  arose,  the  flames  and  sparks  that  constantly 
drove  us  back  from  the  edge,  it  was  easy  to  imagine  that 
there  must  have  been  two  or  three  grand  fiery  fountains  be- 
low. As  the  sun  set,  and  darkness  enveloped  the  scene,  it 
became  more  awful  than  ever.  We  retired  a  little  way  from 
the  brink,  to  breathe  some  fresh  air,  and  to  try  and  eat  the 
food  we  had  brought  with  us  ;  but  this  was  an  impossibility. 
Every  instant  a  fresh  explosion  or  glare  made  us  jump  up 
to  survey  the  stupendous  scene.  The  violent  struggles  of 
the  lava  to  escape  from  its  fiery  bed,  and  the  loud  and  awful 
noises  by  which  they  were  at  times  accompanied,  suggested 
the  idea  that  some  imprisoned  monsters  were  trying  to  re- 
lease themselves  from  their  bondage,  with  shrieks  and 
groans,  and  cries  of  agony  and  despair,  at  the  futility  of 
their  efforts. 

14  Sometimes  there  were  at  least  seven  spots  on  the 


MISCELLANEO  US. 


343 


34:4  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

borders  of  the  lake  where  the  molten  lava  dashed  up  furi- 
ously against  the  rock — seven  fire-fountains  playing  simul- 
taneously. With  the  increasing  darkness  the  colors  emitted 
by  the  glowing  mass  became  more  and  more  wonderful, 
varying  from  the  deepest  jet-black  to  the  palest  gray,  from 
darkest  maroon,  through  cherry  and  scarlet,  to  the  most 
delicate  pink,  violet,  and  blue  ;  from  the  richest  brown, 
through  orange  and  yellow,  to  the  lightest  straw-color.  And 
there  was  yet  another  shade,  only  describable  by  the  term 
"molten-lava  color."  Even  the  smokes  and  vapors  were 
rendered  beautiful  by  their  borrowed  lights  and  tints,  and 
the  black  peaks,  pinnacles,  and  crags,  which  surrounded 
the  amphitheatre,  formed  a  splendid  and  appropriate  back- 
ground. Sometimes  great  pieces  broke  off  and  tumbled 
with  a  crash  into  the  burning  lake,  only  to  be  remelted  and 
thrown  up  anew.  I  had  for  some  time  been  feeling  very 
hot  and  uncomfortable,  and,  on  looking  round,  the  cause  was 
at  once  apparent.  Not  two  inches  beneath  the  surface,  the 
gray  lava  on  which  we  were  standing  and  sitting  was  red- 
hot.  A  stick  thrust  through  it  caught  fire,  a  piece  of  paper 
was  immediately  destroyed,  and  the  gentlemen  found  the 
heat  from  the  crevices  so  great  that  they  could  not  approach 
near  enough  to  light  their  pipes. 

15.  One  more  long  last  look,  and  then  we  turned  our 
faces  away  from  the  scene  that  had  enthralled  us  for  so 
many  hours.  The  whole  of  the  lava  we  had  crossed,  in  the 
extinct  crater,  was  now  aglow  in  many  patches,  and  in  all 
directions  flames  were  bursting  forth,  fresh  lava  was  flow- 
ing, and  steam  and  smoke  were  issuing  from  the  surface. 
It  was  a  toilsome  journey  back  again,  walking  as  we  did  in 
single  file,  and  obeying  the  strict  injunctions  of  our  head 
guide  to  follow  him  closely,  and  to  tread  exactly  in  his  foot- 
steps. On  the  whole,  it  was  easier  by  night  than  by  day  to 
distinguish  the  route  to  be  taken,  as  we  could  now  see  the 
dangers  that  before  we  could  only  feel ;  and  many  were  the 


MT8CELLA  NEO  US.  345 

fiery  crevices  we  stepped  over  or  jumped  across.  Once  I 
slipped,  and  my  foot  sank  through  the  thin  crust.  Sparks 
issued  from  the  ground,  and  the  stick  on  which  I  leaned 
caught  fire  before  I  could  fairly  recover  myself. 

16.  Either  from  the  effects  of  the  unaccustomed  exer- 
cise after  our  long  voyage,  or  from  the  intense  excitement 
of  the  novel  scene,  combined  with  the  gaseous  exhalations 
from  the  lava,  my  strength  began  to  fail,  and  before  reach- 
ing the  side  of  the  crater  I  felt  quite  exhausted.  I  strug- 
gled on  at  short  intervals,  however,  collapsing  several  times 
and  fainting  away  twice  ;  but  at  last  I  had  fairly  to  give  in, 
and  to  allow  myself  to  be  ignominiously  carried  up  the 
steep  precipice  to  the  "Volcano  House"  on  a  chair,  which 
the  guides  went  to  fetch  for  me. 

Mrs.  Brassey. 


THE    VALLEY    OF    DESOLATION. 

1.  You  are  still  likely  to  fall   among  thieves,  going 
down  to  Jericho,  and. the  only  safety  is  in  being  robbed 
before  you  start,  by  purchasing  permission  of  the  Arabs. 
The  tribes  that  haunt  the  hill  country  near  Jerulsalem  are 
not  entirely  friendly  toward  each  other ;  but,  by  retaining 
a  sheik  of  one  of  the  most  powerful  among  them,  you  in- 
sure tolerable  security  for  the  excursion. 

2.  The  sheik  Artoosh,  who  awaited  us    at  the  foot  of 
the   Mount   of   Olives — for  a  Bedouin  fears  to  enter  the 
city,  whose  very  walls  his  stern  wilderness  chafes — was  the 
ideal  Bedouin.     He  had  the  arched  brow,  the  large,  rich, 
sad,  and  tender  eyes  which  are  peculiar  to  the  Orient,  and 
which  painters  aim  to  give  to  pictures  of  Christ.     It  was 
the  most  beautiful  and   luminous  eye  I  have  ever  seen. 
The  other  features  were  delicate,  but  full  of  force,  and  the 
olive  transparency  of   his  complexion  set  his  planet-like 


346  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 

eyes  as  evening  light  the  stars.  There  was  that  extreme 
elegance  in  his  face,  and  in  the  supple  grace  of  his  move- 
ment, which  imagination  attributes  to  noblemen,  and  which 
is  of  the  same  quality  as  the  refinement  of  a  high-bred 
Arabian  horse. 

3.  He  wore,  over  a  white  robe,  a  long  mantle  of  black 
goat's-hair  cloth,  and  his  head  was  covered  with  the  true 
Bedouin    head-dress  —  a    Mecca    handkerchief,    or   small 
shawl,  of  cloth  of  gold,  with  red  borders  and  a  long  rich 
fringe.     This  is  folded  once,  and  laid  smoothly  upon  the 
head.     One  end  falls  behind,  between  the  shoulders,  show- 
ering the  fringe  about  the  back ;  and  the  other  is  carried 
forward,  over  the  right  shoulder,  and  caught  up  upon  the 
left  cheek,  so  half  shielding  the  face,  like  the  open  visor  of 
a  helmet.     A  double  twist  of  goat's-hair  cord,  binding  the 
shawl  smoothly,  goes  around  the  head,  so  that  the  top  of  it 
is  covered  only  with  the  gold. 

4.  Picture  under  this  that  mystic  complexion  of    the 
desert,  steep  it  all  in  Syrian  light,  and  you  have  what  only 
the  eastern  sun  can  show.     Mark,  too,  the  sheik's  white 
mare — valued,  even  there,  at  purses  equal  to  a  thousand 
dollars,  and  on  whom  he  moves  as  flexibly  as  a  sunbeam  on 
the  water. 

5.  We  skirted  the  Mount  of  Olives  on  the  way  to  Beth^ 
any.     In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  we  were  in  the  hill- wilder- 
ness— the  mountains  that  separate  the  valley  of  the  Jordan 
from  the  plain  of  the  sea.      Our  path  was  a  zigzag  way 
upon  the  slope.      There  are   no   houses  or  gardens,   and 
Bethany,   lying  blighted  in  a  nook  of  the  hills,   is  only 
beautiful  because  she  lived  there,  who  loved  much.     A  few 
olive-trees  and  blossoming  vines  linger,  like  fading  fancies 
of  greenness  and  bloom,   along  the  way.      A  few  Arabs 
pass,  with  guns  and  rusty  swords.     You  feel  that  you  are 
in  a  wild  country,  where  the  individual  makes  his  own 
laws. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  347 

6.  Artoosh,  like  our  sheik  of  the  desert,  was  accompa- 
nied by  an  older  dignitary,  a  kind  of  grand  vizier,  perhaps, 
or  genius  of  the  army.      In  narrow  passes  of   the  road, 
throats  and  gorges  of  the  hills,  overhung  by  steep  cliifs, 
the  vizier  rode  forward  and  surveyed  the  position,  gun  in 
hand,  and  finger  on  the  trigger.     Several  times  he  rode 
back  to  Artoosh,  andp  after  a  low  council,  they  galloped  oft' 
together,   and  reappeared  upon  the  hills    beyond,   riding 
around  corners  of  the  rock  and  into  bushy  places  where 
foes  might  lurk.     But  it  was  quite  their  affair.     We  were 
only  passengers,   and  watched  their  beautiful  riding  with 
unmingled  delight  in  its  grace,  and  went  musing  and  sing- 
ing along,  in  the  monotonous  noonlight,  as  in  the  safe  soli- 
tude of  a  city. 

7.  Sunset  showed  us,  from  the  brow  of  the  mountains, 
the  plain  of  the  Jordan.     Far  away,  upon  the  other  side, 
it  was  walled  by  the  misty  range  of  the  Moab.     Utter  si- 
lence brooded  over  the  valley — and  a  silence  as  of  death. 
No  feeling  of  life  saluted  our  gaze.     From  the  Alps,  you 
look  southward  into  the  humming  .luxuriance  of  Italy,  and 
northward    into    the    busy  toil    of    Switzerland,   and    the 
Apennines  are  laved  with  teeming  life.     But  of  all  valleys 
that  I  had  ever  beheld  from  mountain-tops,  this  was  the 
saddest.     Not  even  the  hope  of  regeneration  into  activity 
dawned  in  the  mind.     I  was  looking  down  into  the  valley 
of  the  Shadow  of  Death. 

8.  We  descended  rapidly  into  the  plain,  and  the  camp 
was  pitched  among  the  green  shrubs  and  trees  that  over- 
hung a  stream.     It  was  Elisha's  brook  that  ran  sweet  and 
clear  just  behind  our  tent.      It  was  a  wild  night.      The 
heat  was  deadly,  and  the  massive  mountains  rose  grimly 
before  us,  as  if  all  fair  airs  were  for  ever  walled  away.    The 
sky  was  piled  with  jagged  clouds.     Occasional  showers  pat- 
tered upon  the  tents,  and  keen  lightning  angrily  flashed, 
while  low,  dull  thunder  was  hushed  and  flattened  in  the 


348  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

thick  air.     None  of  us  slept.     It  was  a  weird  and  awful 
night. 

9.  A  lurid  dawn  reddened  over  the  valley.     The  leaden 
clouds  caught  the  gleam  upon  their  reef-like  edges,  but 
folded  over  again  into  deeper  blackness.     They  clung,  af- 
frighted, to  the  mountains,  which  were  only  a  mysterious 
darkness  in  the  dawn.     A  mocking  rainbow  spanned  the 
blind  abysses,  and  the  east  was  but  a  vast  vapor,  suffused 
with   crimson    luminousness.      The  day  was  fateful   and 
strange,  and  glared  at  us  vengeful-eyed,  like  a  maniac.    We 
were  in  a  valley  a  thousand  feet  below  the  Mediterranean. 
The  Dead  Sea  had  infected  it  with  death.     This  was  the 
spirit  and  gloom  of  the  sea,  without  its  substance.     Thus 
it  would  compel  the  very  landscape  and  atmosphere  to  its 
appalling  desolation,  before  it  overflowed  it  with  its  water. 

10.  Through  the  vague  apprehension  of  that  supernat- 
ural morning  I  heard  the  gurgling  song  of  the  little  brook 
of  Elisha,  flowing  clear  and  smooth  out  of  the  dark  mount- 
ain region,   and    threading   that   enchanted    silence  with 
pleasant  sound.     I  ran  to  it  and  leaped  in,  and  drank  of 
the  water.     But  the  red-eyed  morning  scorned  me  as  I  lay 
in  that  sweet  embrace,  and  moaning  muttered  thunders 
rehearsed  the  dreary  day. 

11.  The  tents  were  struck.     Artoosh,  sheik  of  sheiks, 
leaped  into  his  saddle,  and  the  beautiful  mare  paced  slowly 
away  from  the  camp  and  led  us  toward  Jericho.     The  little 
stream  called  after  me,  rilling  cool  music  through  the  leaves 
— softer  ever,  and  farther,  until  I  heard  it  no  more.     The 
path  wound  among  the  bashes  upon  the  plain.     A  few 
large    rain-drops    fell  with    heavy   distinctness    upon   the 
leaves.     No  birds  sang,  as  they  sing  all  day  in  dead,  sunny 
Jerusalem.     There  were  no  houses,  no  flocks,  no  men  or 
women.     We  came  to  a  grain-tract  that  waved  luxuriantly 
to  the  horses'  bellies,  and  out  of  the  grain,  upon  a  little 
elevation,  arose  a  solitary  ruined  tower. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  349 

12.  It  was  the  site  of  Jericho — the  City  of  Palms,  as 
Moses  called  it.     We  saw  no  roses   nor  palms.     We  saw 
only  a  cluster  of  sad  stone  hovels  ;  wan-eyed  men  stared 
at  us  like  specters  from  the  doors,  and  the  scene  was  lonely 
and  forlorn.    Yet  near  one  hovel  a  group  of  young  fig-trees 
was  blossoming,  as  fairly  as  ever  the  figs  and  roses  could 
have  blossomed  in  the  gardens  of  Jericho,  before  the  seven 
rams  were  yeaned,   and  Joshua  was  a   beardless  boy,  in 
Israel's  camp  by  the  Red  Sea.     The  elevation  upon  which 
stands  the  tower  commands  the  plain,  and  a  more  memora- 
ble or  remarkable  landscape  seen  under  such  a  sky  is  no- 
where beheld. 

13.  The  vast  reach  of  the  plain  lay  silent  and  shadowed, 
as  in  early  twilight,  from  the  gleaming  level  of  the  Dead 
Sea  on  the  south  to  the  mountains  that  closed  the  valley 
upon  the  north.     Westward  lay  the  hills  of  Judea,  and  to 
the  east  the  Moab  Mountains.     Lower  lines  of  nearer  east- 
ern hills  rolled  and  curved  before  us.     Over  all  hung  the 
lurid  sky.     Vague  thunder  still  shook  the  awed  hush  of 
morning,  and  far  over  the  Dead  Sea,  into  the  dense  black- 
ness that  absorbed  at  the  south  its  burnished  water,  fiery 
flashes  darted.     Glimpses  of  pallid  blue  sky  struggled  over- 
head in  the  crimson  vortex  of  vapor,  and  died  into  the 
clouds.     Upon  the  tops  of  all  the  bushy  trees  near  us  sat 
solemn-eyed  eagles  and  vultures,  silent  with  fixed  stare,  like 
birds  of  prey  dismally  expectant. 

14.  But  suddenly,   like  those  who    descry  life  in  the 
midst  of  death,  we  saw  the  green  trees  that  fringe  the  Jor- 
dan, and  the  whole  party  bounded  at  full  speed  over  the 
plain.    Beautiful,  bowery  Jordan  !    Its  swift,  turbid  stream 
eddied  and  fled  through  the  valley,  defying  its  death  with 
eager  motion,  and  with  the  low  gurgling   song  of  living 
water.     It  is  very  narrow — not  more  at  that  season  than  a 
hundred  feet  wide,  and  it  has  channeled  a  deep  bed  in  the 
soft  earth,  so  that  you  do  not  see  it  until  you  stand  on  the 


350 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 


Tlie  Valley  of  the  Jordan,  from  tlie  Convent  of  St.  JoTin. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  351 

very  verge  of  the  bank.  Balsam  poplars,  willows,  and  ole- 
anders lean  over  it,  shrinking  from  the  inexorable  plain  be- 
hind, clustering  into  it  with  trembling  foliage  and  arching 
it  with  green,  as  if  tree  and  river  had  sworn  forlorn  friend- 
ship in  that  extremity  of  solitude. 

15.  Beautiful,  bowery  Jordan  !    Yet  you  are  sad  as  you 
stand  dipping  your  feet  in  its  water — sad  as  you  watch  this 
brave  son  of  Lebanon  rushing,  tumultuously  triumphant, 
like  a  victor  in  the  race — rushing  and  reeling  with  terror 
and  delight,  and  in  a  moment  to  be  hushed  and  choked  in 
the  bosom  of  the  neighboring  sea — your  eyes  rove  from  the 
water  to  the  trees  that  overhang  it,  with  almost  a  human 
sympathy,  and  those  trees  are  figures  as  lithe  and  pensive 
to  your  imagination  as  the  daughters  of  Babylon  who  wept 
hopelessly  by  other  waters. 

16.  So  leave  it  singing  under  trees  in  your  memory  for 
ever.     And  when  in  after  days  you  sit,  on  quiet  summer 
Sundays,  in  the  church,  and  hear  the  story  of  the  Baptism, 
the  forms  around  you  will  melt  in  the  warm  air  ;  and  once 
more  those  trees  will  overlean,  once  more  those  waters  sing, 
and  the  Jordan,  a  vague  name  to  others,  shall  be  a  line  of 
light  in  your  memory. 

17.  Artoosh  turned  to  the  south,  and  away  from  the 
river  which  bends  toward  the  Moab  Mountains.     We  rode 
for  an  hour  over  the  soft,  floor-like,  shrub-dotted  plain, 
and  to  the  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea. 

18.  It  lay  like    molten    lead,   heavily  still   under  the 
clouds,  a  stretch  of  black  water  gleaming  under  mutter- 
ing thunder.     Its  shores  are  bare  mountain  precipices.    No 
tree  grows  upon  the  bank  ;  no  sail  shines  upon  the  sea ; 
no  wave  or  ghostly  ripple  laps  the  beach,  only  dead  drift- 
wood   is   strewn   along   the   shore.      No  bird  flew  over  ; 
even  the  wind   had  died  away.      Moaning  thunder  only 
was   the   evidence  of  life  in  nature.      My  horse  stooped 
to  the  clear  water,  but  did  not  drink.     It  was  a  spot  ac* 


352  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

cursed.     Did  Cain  skulk  along  this  valley,  leaving  Abel  in 
the  field  ? 

19.  We  tasted  the  water  ;  it  is  inconceivably  bitter  and 
salt.  Sea- water  is  mild  in  the  comparison.  None  of  us 
bathed.  Not  alone  the  stickiness  and  saltness,  but  a  feeling 
of  horror  repelled  me.  Haply  the  sins  of  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrah, shaped  as  incredible  monsters,  haunt  those  depths. 
I  believed  the  quaint  old  legend  :  "  And  if  a  man  cast  iron 
therein,  it  will  float  on  the  surface  ;  but  if  men  cast  a 
feather  therein,  it  will  sink  to  the  bottom/'' 

Geo.  W.  Curtis. 


THE    GEYSERS   OF  THE   YELLOWSTONE. 

1.  THE  Upper  Geyser  Basin  of  the  Firehole  River  is 
the  center  of  attraction  in  the  Great  National  Park  of  the 
Yellowstone  River.     The  opening  containing  the  principal 
geysers  extends  about  a  mile  up  and  down  the  river,  with 
a  width  of  from  a  quarter  to  half  a  mile.     The  geysers  and 
principal  springs  are  surrounded  with  deposits  of  the  vari- 
ous minerals   formed   into   cones,   pyramids,   castles,   and 
grottoes,  of  every  conceivable  design.     The  surface  is  per- 
forated with  steam- vents  from  a  half  inch  to  five  feet  in 
diameter.      Just   imagine   the   steam   coming  up  from  a 
thousand  orifices,  the  transparent  element  spouting  forth 
from  a  dozen  caldrons  at  once  ;  and  the  whole  scene,  beau- 
tiful and  strange  within  itself,  bathed  with  the  bright  sun- 
light  pouring  down  from  a  cloudless  sky,  softening  and 
blending  the  variegated  hues  of  the  groundwork,  and  arch- 
ing every  column  of  steam  with  a  halo  of  brilliant  colors  ! 

2.  Our  first  visit  is  to  Old  Faithful,  so  called  from  the 
regular  intervals  at  which  she  spouts.     She  stands  as  a 
sentinel  on  that  eminence  yonder  at  the  head  of  the  basin, 


MISCELLANEOUS.  353 

near  the  timber  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  about  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  southeast  of  our  camp  ;  and,  though  on  the 
outpost  of  this  mystic  region,  she  never  flinches  from  duty, 
nor  asks  relief,  but  by  the  hourly  rush  of  steam,  and  the 
grand  display  of  water-works,  she  sounds  the  "All's  well ! " 
reminding  the  inhabitants  that  she  is  at  her  post,  and  that 
the  machinery  of  the  lower  region  is  yet  in  working  con- 
dition. It  is  nearly  time  for  her  to  spout,  and  we  must  be 
in  haste  if  we  would  witness  the  first  eruption  at  close 
range.  Here  we  found  several  mounds,  perhaps  the  craters 
of  extinct  geysers  ;  but  the  crater  of  the  Faithful  is  on  an 
elevation  made  by  the  deposit  from  the  water  about  twenty 
or  thirty  feet  above  the  common  level,  with  a  chimney-like 
crater  rising  five  or  six  feet  higher. 

3.  Full  of  adventure,  we  walked  up  to  the  steaming 
aperture,  but  warned  by  the  internal  rumbling  and  quak- 
ing of  the  ground  beneath  us,  attended  by  a  rush  of  steam 
and  water  from  the  crater,  we  beat  a  hasty  retreat,  and  had 
scarcely  reached  a  place  of  safety,  when,  turning  our  eyes, 
we  beheld  one  of  the  grandest  displays  of  the  kind  we  had 
ever  beheld --a  perfect  geyser — an  immense  volume  of  clear, 
hot  water  projected  into  the  air  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  vertical  feet,  attended  with 
dense  volumes  of  steam  rising  upward  for  many  hundred 
feet,  and  floating  away  in  clouds.     So  great  was  the  im- 
pellent force,  that  the  immense  fountain  was  held  in  its 
place  for  several  moments,  only  swayed  to  and  fro  by  the 
gentle  breeze,  the  water  descending  on  all  sides,  and  rush- 
ing down   the   slopes  of   the   mound   in  great   channels. 
Every  spectator  was  filled  with  enthusiasm  at   this   the 
first  exhibition  of  the  kind  we  had  yet  witnessed. 

4.  The  crater  is  oblong  in  shape,  being  two  feet  wide 
by  six  in  length,  which  gives  you  an  estimate  of  the  di- 
mension of  the  volume  of  water  thrown  out,  the  average 
height  of  which  is  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet. 


354  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

The  immense  volume  impelled  from  the  crater  forms  a  per- 
fect apex  at  the  top,  where  the  water  having  spent  its  force 
descends  on  the  outside  of  the  ascending  column,  giving 
it,  when  the  wind  is  favorable,  driving  away  the  steam,  the 
appearance  of  a  cone,  nearly  the  shape  of  a  sugar-loaf.  The 
sparkling  fountain  lashed  into  foam,  detached  into  millions 
of  pearly  drops,  and  all  glistening  in  the  bright  sunlight, 
is  grand  beyond  conception,  and  creates  an  enthusiasm  that 
is  perfectly  irresistible.  The  water  often  at  first  goes  up 
in  jets  or  by  successive  impulses,  as  if  the  firemen  were 
letting  the  steam  on  by  degrees,  each  jet  going  higher,  and 
still  higher,  when,  after  it  has  maintained  its  greatest  alti- 
tude for  a  few  moments,  it  descends  in  the  same  way  until 
the  force  is  spent.  The  last  minute  or  so  the  eruption  is 
entirely  of  steam. 

5.  But,  leaving  the  Faithful,  and  crossing  the  river  on 
a  fallen  tree,  gathering  a  sprig  and  cone  from  an  evergreen 
as  we  pass,  as  a  memento  of  our  visit,  about  three  hundred 
yards  distant  down  the  stream,  and  not  far  from  its  mar- 
gin, on  the  side  of  the  slope,  we  come  to  a  little  cone  of 
the  same  siliceous  character,  with  perfect  symmetry  of  form, 
and  beautifully  corrugated  with  pearl-like  bead-work.     It 
is  three  feet  in  height,  nearly  circular  in  form,  and  from 
three  to  four  feet  in  diameter  at  the  top,  with  a  base  of 
eight  feet.      Its  aperture  is  about  eighteen  inches  in  di- 
ameter, and  ornamented  in  its  peculiar  geyser-like  style. 
This  is  the  Beehive  Geyser,  so  called  from  its  appearance — 
that  of  a  beehive. 

6.  Standing  alone  on  the  hill-side,  you  would  not  at 
first  suspect  that  it  belonged  to  the  geyser  family,  as  there 
is  but  little  evidence  of  the  action  of  water  around  it.     But, 
while  we  were  in  camp  the  next  day  after  our  arrival,  some 
one  shouted  :    "  Geyser  !   geyser  !   the  Beehive  !   the  Bee- 
hive's going  oif  ! "  when  we  looked,  and  beheld  a  stream  of 
water  and  steam,  somewhat  larger  than  the  aperture,  as- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  355 

Gen  ding  gracefully  and  without  any  apparent  effort  from 
this  small  orifice,  until  it  reached  an  altitude  of  at  least 
two  hundred  feet.  It  makes  a  fine  display  as  the  water 
and  steam  come  up  in  a  steady  stream  (unlike  most  of  the 
others),  and  continues  in  action  about  fifteen  minutes.  We 
were  captivated  at  the  sight,  and  in  the  midst  of  our  ex- 
citement waded  the  river  in  order  to  have  the  full  benefit 
of  a  closer  view.  We  could  stand  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
base  on  the  windward  side,  while  the  water  and  steam  were 
hurled  with  great  force  into  the  air.  This  geyser  acts  only 
once  in  every  two  or  three  days,  and,  being  one  of  great 
beauty,  is  a  general  favorite. 

7.  On  the  same  side  of  the  river,  about  two  hundred 
yards  to  the  eastward  from  the  Beehive,  on  the  summit  of 
a  little  knoll,  is  the  Giantess,  which,  according  to  the  evi- 
dence of  some  of  the  first  explorers,  is  one  of  the  grandest 
and  most  magnificent  geysers  in  the  basin  when  in  action. 
Here  is  an  orifice,  with  edges  beautifully  scalloped,  about 
twenty  by  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter  at  the  surface,  and 
filled  to  the  brim  with  water,  which  is  at  about  192°  tem- 
perature, and  very  slightly  troubled.     No  one  would  sus- 
pect its  being  a  geyser,  but  simply  a  mineral  spring,  such 
as  crown  some  other  eminences  near  here,  were  it  not  for 
the  great  channels  and  water-marks  made  by  the  descend- 
ing torrent  as  it  rushes  down  the  hill-side,  after  being  re- 
leased from  the  heated  chambers  far  down  in  the  bowels  of 
the  earth. 

8.  But  how  different  the  scene  two  hours  later,  when 
attracted  by  repeated  sounds  like  claps  of  thunder,  and 
heavy  concussions  like  the  firing  of  a  cannon  underground, 
and  about  as  regular  as  the  discharges  of  a  battery  in  a 
siege,  causing  the  earth  to  tremble  beneath  our  feet,  and 
filling  one  with  horror  that  would  cause  many  to  fear  and 
tremble,  and  hearing  the  rumble  and  rush  of  falling  water, 
accompanied  by  the  hiss  of  powerful  steam-valves  in  mo- 

24 


356  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

tion,  we  hastened  to  the  scene  of  action,  which  proved  to 
be  the  Giantess  !  She  was  just  getting  up,  or  rather  it 
proved  to  be  letting  off,  steam  ;  and  from  the  internal 
rumble  of  her  machinery  we  anticipated  a  fine  display. 
We  found  this  great  orifice,  nearly  one  hundred  feet  in 
depth,  half  emptied,  and  the  water  foaming  and  heaving 
and  surging  at  a  terrible  rate,  throwing  occasional  volumes 
(a  few  scores  of  barrels  each)  out  of  the  crater  to  the  height 
of  fifty  feet,  which  came  down  with  a  fearful  crash.  At 
times  the  water  would  recede  entirely  from  view,  and  we 
could  look  down  into  the  terrible  cavity,  made  more  gloomy 
by  the  grim,  dark  walls,  to  its  greatest  depth.  But  more 
than  once  were  we  driven  from  the  verge  by  the  rising 
steam,  as  if,  spiteful  at  our  intrusion,  it  would  cast  out  the 
boiling  volumes  and  threaten  us  with  destruction.  This 
action  was  repeated  occasionally  for  several  hours,  until 
after  dark ;  but  it  positively  refused  to  give  us  one  of 
its  grandest  displays,  of  which  a  writer,  before  quoted, 


9.  "  When  an  eruption  is  about  to  occur,  the  basin 
gradually  fills  with  boiling  water  to  within  a  few  feet  of 
the  surface,  when  suddenly  with  heavy  concussions  im- 
mense clouds  of  steam  rise  to  the  height  of  five  hundred 
feet,  and  the  whole  great  body  of  water — twenty  by  twenty- 
five  feet — ascends  in  one  gigantic  column  to  the  height  of 
ninety  feet.  From  the  apex  of  this  column  five  great  jets 
shoot  up,  radiating  slightly  from  each  other,  to  the  un- 
paralleled altitude  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The 
earth  trembles  under  the  descending  deluge  from  this  vast 
fountain  ;  a  thousand  hissing  sounds  are  heard  in  the  air  ; 
rainbows  encircle  the  summits  of  the  jets  with  a  halo  of 
celestial  glory.  The  falling  water  plows  up  and  bears 
away  the  shelly  strata,  and  a  seething  flood  pours  down 
the  slope  and  into  the  river.  After  playing  thus  for 
twenty  minutes,  it  gradually  subsides ;  the  water  lowers 


MISCELLANEOUS.  357 

into  the  crater  out  of  sight ;  the  steam  ceases  to  escape, 
and  all  is  quiet." 

10.  Along  the  river-bank,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below, 
are  a  number  of  chimney-like  craters,  which  Dr.  Hayden 
thinks  are  the  remains  of  extinct  geysers.     They  are  full 
of  water,  in  some  of  which  it  is  at  a  high  temperature, 
though  not  sufficient  to  produce   eruptions.      There   are 
many  such  craters  and  springs  all  through  Wonderland, 
which  may  have  once  been  active  geysers,  but  are  now  ex- 
tinct ;  while  others,  though  still  active,  erupt  only  at  long 
intervals,  and  have  not  been  discovered  yet.     It  is  some- 
times difficult  to  distinguish  between  geysers  and  inactive 
springs  when  the  former  are  not  spouting,  except  by  the 
channels  in  the  shelly  strata  showing  traces  of  the  descend- 
ing fountain  as  it  flows  away. 

11.  Near  the  west  bank  of  the  river  is  the  Giant  Gey- 
ser, which  is  the  grandest  and  most  gigantic  fountain  in 
the  basin,  and,  as  far  as  yet  discovered,  in  the  world.     We 
had  just  left  the  Grotto,  on  our  way  to  camp,  and  were 
resting  in  the  cool  shade  of  some  intervening  trees,  not 
far  away,  when  it  began  to  give  signs  of  an  eruption,  thus 
affording  us  a  splendid  opportunity  to  witness  its  move- 
ments. 

12.  This  geyser  is  one  of  a  group  of  three  orifices  or 
craters,  all  in  a  row  and  in  close  proximity,  together  with 
a  small  vent  just  off  to  one  side,  six  inches  in  diameter, 
from  which  jets  of  steam  are  almost  constantly  emitted, 
much  in  the  manner  of  the  discharge  of  steam  from  the 
escape-pipe  of  a  steam-engine,  and  with  about  the  same 
regularity.      They  are  all  situated  on  a  slight  elevation 
about  seventy-five  or  one  hundred  yards  in  diameter.     The 
Giant  is,  of  course,  the  principal  one,  and  constitutes  the 
center  of  attraction.      Its  crater  has  been  compared,  in 
appearance,  to  the  base  of  a  broken  horn,  but  for  my  life 
I  could  liken  it  to  nothing  that  I  had  ever  seen,  save  the 


358  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

stump  of  a  hollow  sycamore-tree  of  gigantic  proportions, 
the  top  of  which  had  been  torn  off  in  a  storm.  It  rises 
ten  or  twelve  feet  above  the  platform,  with  a  diameter  of 
eight  or  ten  feet  at  the  top,  with  five  feet  cavity.  One 
side  is  broken  in — torn  off,  perhaps,  by  an  unusually  ter- 
rific eruption. 

13.  It  swells  out  irregularly  at  the  base  just  like  the 
roots  of  a  huge  tree  ;  the  grayish  silica  crust  represents 
the  bark  of  the  sycamore,  while  the  cavity  is  carved  into 
numerous  little  grooves,  and  stained  with  various  minerals, 
giving  it  a  dark  coating,  reminding  you  of  the  decayed 
part  of  the  inside  of  an  old  stump.     But  it  changes  its 
appearance  as  you  approach,  and  look  down  into  its  depths. 
The  angry  gurgling  of  the  water  can  be  heard  at  all  times 
many  feet  below,  and  occasionally  the  agitation  is  so  great 
that  it  is  thrown  out  over  the  top  of  the  crater,  together 
with  volumes  of  rising  steam. 

14.  The  first  thing  I  observed  when  it  gave  signs  of 
action  was  the  cessation  of  the  little  steam-jet,  when  the 
geyser  nearest  it  began  to  surge  at  a  fearful  rate,  throwing 
a  great  volume  of  water  to  an  altitude  of  twenty  or  thirty 
feet.     It  played  but  a  moment,  and  the  next  one  went 
through  a  similar  operation,  when,  as  if  ashamed  of  their 
significant  failures  to  rise  in  the  world,  or  in  honor  of  the 
grand  chief  of  the  realm  who  was  about  to  appear,  they  all 
retired  from  the  scene  of  action  and  became  quiescent. 
Then,  with  a  terrible  rushing  and  rumbling  below,  with  a 
powerful  effort  and  fearful  heavings  that  caused  the  very 
earth  to  groan,  and  seemed  sufficient  to  tear  the  solid  walls 
of  the  crater  into  a  thousand  atoms,  the  Giant  came  forth 
in  the  majesty  of  his  mighty  power.     A  volume  of  boil- 
ing water,  the  size  of  the  nozzle  of  the  crater,  was  pro- 
jected to  a  great  altitude,  the  action  being  repeated  several 
times. 

15.  Then  for  a  moment  all  was  quiet.     Thinking  it 


MISCELLANEOUS.  359 

only  a  feint,  we  attempted  to  approach  the  orifice  and 
make  investigations,  when  we  were  met  by  an  immense 
volume  of  steaming  water,  as  if  just  from  one  of  Hecate's 
caldrons,  causing  another  disorderly  retreat.  It  now  com- 
menced in  earnest,  and  we  surely  witnessed  one  of  the 
grandest  displays  of  water-works  ever  beheld  by  mortal 
eyes.  The  fountains  of  the  great  deep  seemed  literally  to 
have  been  broken  up  and  turned  loose  again  upon  our  sin- 
ful world.  A  steady  column  of  water,  graceful,  majestic, 
and  vertical,  except  as  swayed  by  the  passing  breezes,  was 
by  rapid  and  successive  impulses  impelled  upward  above 
the  steam  until  reaching  the  marvelous  height  of  more  than 
two  hundred  feet. 

16.  At  first  it  appeared  to  labor  in  raising  the  immense 
volume,  which  seemed  loath  to  start  on  its  heavenward 
tour,  but  now  it  was  with  perfect  ease  that  the  stupendous 
column  was  held  to  its  place,  the  water  breaking  into  jets 
and  returning  in  glittering  showers  to  the  basin.      The 
steam  ascended  in   dense  volumes  for  thousands  of  feet, 
when  it  was  freighted  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind  and 
borne  away  in  clouds.     The  fearful  rumble  and  confusion 
attending  it  were  as  the  sound  of  distant  artillery,   the 
rushing  of  many  horses  to  battle,  or  the  roar  of  a  fearful 
tornado.     It  commenced  to  act  at  2  P.  M.,  and  continued 
for  an  hour  and  a  half,  the  latter  part  of  which  it  emitted 
little  else  but  steam  rushing  upward  from  its  chambers 
below,  of  which,  if  controlled,  there  is  enough  to  run  an 
engine  of  wonderful  power. 

17.  There   are  hundreds  of   springs  in  the  basin,   all 
differing  more  or  less  in  some  particular.     There  are  about 
twenty  regularly  acting,  of  which  those  mentioned  are  the 
principal  ones.     On  a  calm,  clear  morning,  at  or  just  be- 
fore sunrise,  when  all  the  springs  are  sending  up  their 
columns  of  steam  of  every  magnitude,  and  all  boiling  and 
fussing  and  splashing  away,  as  if  trying  each  to  attract  the 


360  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

greatest  share  of  attention,  and  while  one  or  two  of  the 
larger  geysers  are  piercing  the  heavens  with  their  stupen- 
dous columns,  the  basin  presents  a  lively  and  interesting 
spectacle. 

Edward  J.  Stanley, 


CLOUDS. 

1.  FROM  every  natural  fact  invisible  relations  radiate, 
the  apprehension  of  which  imparts  a  measure  of  delight ; 
and  there  is  a  store  of  pleasure  of  this  kind  ever  at  hand  for 
those  who  have  the  capacity  to  turn  natural  appearances  to 
account.     It  is  pleasant,  for  example,  to  lie  on  one's  back 
upon  a  dry  green  slope  and  watch  the  clouds  forming  and 
disappearing  in  the  blue  heaven. 

2.  A  few  days  back  the  firmament  was  mottled  with 
floating  cumuli,  from  the  fringes  of  which  light  of  dazzling 
whiteness  was  reflected  downward,  while  the  chief  mass  of 
the  clouds  lay  in  dark  shadow.     From  the  edge  of  one 
large  cloud-field  stretched  small  streamers,  which,  when 
attentively  observed,  were  seen  to  disappear  gradually,  and 
finally  to  leave  no  trace  upon  the  blue  sky.     On  the  oppo- 
site fringe  of  the  same  cloud,  and  beyond  it,  small  patches 
of  milky  mist  would  appear,  and  curdle  up,  so  as  to  form 
little  cloudlets  as  dense  apparently  as  the  large  mass  beside 
which  they  were  formed.     The  counter  processes  of  pro- 
duction and  consumption  were  evidently  going  on  at  oppo- 
site sides  of  the  cloud.     Even  in  the  midst  of  the  serene 
firmament,  where  a  moment  previously  the  space  seemed 
absolutely  void,   white   cloud-patches  were   formed,   their 
sudden  appearance  exciting  that  kind  of  surprise  which 
might  be  supposed  to  accompany  the  observation  of  a  direct 
creative  act. 

3.  These  clouds  were  really  the  indicators  of  what  was 


MISCELLANEOUS.  361 

going  on  in  the  unseen  air.  Without  them  no  motion  was 
visible  ;  but  their  appearance  and  disappearance  proved  not 
only  the  existence  of  motion,  but  also  the  want  of  homo- 
geneity in  the  atmosphere.  Though  we  did  not  see  them, 
currents  were  mingling,  possessing  different  temperatures 
and  carrying  different  loads  of  invisible  watery  vapor. 

4.  We  know  that  clouds  are  not  true  vapor,  but  vapor 
precipitated  by  cold  to  water.     We  know  also  that   the 
amount  of  water  which  the  air  can  hold  in  the  invisible 
state  depends  upon  its  temperature  ;  the  higher  the  tem- 
perature of  the  air,  the  more  water  will  it  be  able  to  take 
up.     But  when  a  portion  of  warm  air,  carrying  its  invisible 
charge,  is  invaded  by  a  current  of  low  temperature,  the 
chilled  vapor  is  precipitated,  and  a  cloud  is  the   conse- 
quence.    In  this  way  two  parcels  of  moist  air,  each  of 
which  taken  singly  may  be  perfectly  transparent,  can  pro- 
duce by  their  mixture  an  opaque  cloud.     In  the  same  way 
a  body  of  clear  humid  .air,  when  it  strikes  the  cold  summit 
of  a  mountain,  may  render  that  mountain  "cloud-capped." 

5.  An  illustration  of  this  process,  which  o.ccurred  some 
years  ago  in  a  Swedish  ball-room,  is  recounted  by  Professor 
Dove.     The  weather  was  clear  and  cold,  and  the  ball-room 
was  clear  and  warm.     A  lady  fainted,  and  air  was  thought 
necessary  to  her  restoration.     A  military  officer  present 
tried  to  open  the  window,  but  it  was  frozen  fast.    He  broke 
the  window  with  his  sword,  the  cold  air  entered,  and  it 
snowed  in  the  room.     A  minute  before  this  all  was  clear, 
the  warm  air  sustaining  a  large  amount  of  moisture  in  a 
transparent  condition.     When  the  colder  air  entered,  the 
vapor  was  first  condensed  and  then  frozen. 

6.  The  admission  of  cool  air  even  into  our  London  ball- 
rooms produces  mistiness.    Mountain  chains  are  very  effect 
ive  in  precipitating  the  vapor  of  our  southwesterly  winds  ; 
and  this  sometimes  to  such  an  extent  as  to  produce  totally 
different  climates  on  the  two  sides  of  the  same  mountain 


362  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

group.  This  is  very  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  observa- 
tions of  Dr.  Lloyd  on  the  rain-fall  of  Ireland.  Stations 
situated  on  the  southwest  side  of  a  mountain  range  showed 
a  quantity  of  rain  far  in  excess  of  that  observed  upon  the 
northeast  side.  The  winds  in  passing  over  the  mountains 
were  drained  of  their  moisture,  and  were  afterward  com- 
paratively dry. 

7.  Two  or  three  years  ago  I  had  an  opportunity  of  wit- 
nessing a  singular  case  of  condensation  at  Mortain  in  Nor- 
mandy.    The  tourist  will  perhaps  remember  a  little  chapel 
perched  upon  the  highest  summit  in  the  neighborhood.     A 
friend  and  I  chanced  to  be  at  this  point  near  the  hour  of 
sunset.     The  air  was  cloudless,  and  the  sun  flooded  the 
hillsides  and  valleys  with  golden  light.     We  watched  him 
as  he  gradually  approached  the  crest  of  a  hill,  behind  which 
he  finally  disappeared.    Up  to  this  point  a  sunny  landscape 
of  exquisite  beauty  was  spread  before  us,  the  atmosphere 
being  very  transparent ;  but  now  the  air  seemed  suddenly 
to  curdle  into  mist.     Five  minutes  after  the  sun  had  de- 
parted, a  dense  fog  filled  the  valleys  and  drifted  in  fleecy 
masses  up  the  sides  of  the  hills.     In  an  incredibly  short 
time  we  found  ourselves  enveloped  in  local  clouds  so  dense 
as  to  render  our  retreat  a  matter  of  some  difficulty. 

8.  In  this  case,  before  the  sun  had  disappeared,  the  air 
was   evidently   nearly   saturated   with   transparent  vapor. 
But  why  did  the  vapor  curdle  up  so  suddenly  when  the 
sun  departed  ?    Was  it  because  the  withdrawal  of  his  beams 
rendered  the  air  of  the  valleys  colder,  and  thus  caused  the 
precipitation  of  the  moisture  diffused  through  the  air  ? 
No.     We  must  look  for  an  explanation  to  a  more  direct 
action  of  the  sun  upon  the  atmospheric  moisture.     Let  me 
explain.     The  beams  which  reach  us  from  the  sun  are  of  a 
very  composite  character.     A  sheaf  of  white  sunbeams  is 
composed  of  an  infinitude  of  colored  rays,  the  resultant  ef- 
fect of  all  upon  the  eye  being  the  impression  of  whiteness. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  363 

But,  though  the  colors  and  shades  of  color  which  enter  into 
the  composition  of  a  sunbeam  are  infinite,  for  the  sake  of 
convenience  we  divide  them  into  seven,  which  are  known 
as  the  prismatic  colors. 

9.  The  beams  of  the  sun,  however,  produce  heat  as  well 
as  light,  and  there  are  different  qualities  of  heat  in  the  sun- 
beam as  well  as  different  qualities  of  light — nay,  there  are 
copious  rays  of  heat  in  a  sunbeam  which  give  no  light  at 
all,  some  of  which  never  even  reach  the  retina  at  all,  but 
are  totally  absorbed  by  the  humors  of  the  eye.     Now,  the 
same  substance  may  permit  rays  of  heat  of  a  certain  quality 
to  pass  freely  through  it,  while  it  may  effectually  stop  rays 
of  heat  of  another  quality.    But  in  all  cases  the  heat  stopped 
is  expended  in  heating  the  body  which  stops  it.     Now, 
water  possesses  this  selecting  power  in  an  eminent  degree. 
It  allows  the  blue  rays  of  the  solar  beam  to  pass  through  it 
with  facility,  but  it  slightly  intercepts  the  red  rays,  and 
absorbs  with  exceeding  energy  the  obscure  rays  ;  and  those 
are  the  precise  rays  which  possess  the  most  intense  heating 
power. 

10.  We  see  here  at  once  the  powerful  antagonism  of  the 
sun  to  the  formation  of  visible  fog,  and  we  see  also  how  the 
withdrawal  of  his  beams  may  be  followed  by  sudden  con- 
densation, even  before  the  air  has  had  any  time  to  cool. 
As  long  as  the  solar  beams  swept  through  the  valleys  of 
Mortain,  every  particle  of  water  that  came  in  their  way  was 
reduced  to  transparent  vapor  by  the  heat  which  the  particle 
itself  absorbed  ;  or,  to  speak  more  strictly,  in  the  presence 
of  this  antagonism  precipitation  could  not  at  all  occur,  and 
the   atmosphere   remained  consequently  clear.*     But   the 
moment  the  sun  withdrew,  the  vapor  followed,  without 
opposition,  its  own  tendency  to  condense,  and  its  sudden 
curdling  up  was  the  consequence. 

*  At  this  time  I  was  brooding  over  experiments  on  the  absorption  of 
radiant  heat  by  aqueous  vapor. 


364  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

11.  With  regard  to  the  air,  its  temperature  may  not 
only  have  remained  sensibly  unchanged  for  some  time  after 
the  setting  of  the  sun,  but  it  may  have  actually  become 
warmer  through  the  heat  set  free  by  the  act  of  condensa- 
tion.    It  was  not,  therefore,  the  action  of  cold  air  upon  the 
vapor  which  produced  the  effect,  but  it  was  the  withdrawal 
of  that  solar  energy  which  water  has  the  power  to  absorb, 
and  by  absorbing  to  become  dissipated  in  true  vapor. 

12.  I  once  stood  with  a  friend  upon  a  mountain  which 
commands  a  view  of  the  glacier  of  the  Rhone  from  its  origin 
to  its  end.     The  day  had  been  one  of  cloudless  splendor, 
and  there  was  something  awful  in  the  darkness  of  the  firm- 
ament.    This  deepening  of  the  blue  is  believed  by  those 
who  know  the  mountains  to  be  an  indication  of  a  humid 
atmosphere.     The  transparency,  however,  was  wonderful. 
The  summits  of  Mont  Cervin  and  the  Weisshorn  stood  out 
in  clear  definition,  while  the  mighty  mass  of  the  Finsteraar- 
horn  rose  with  perfect  sharpness  of  outline  close  at  hand. 
As  long  as  the  sun  was  high,  there  was  no  trace  of  fog  in 
the  valleys,  but  as  he  sloped  to  the  west  the  shadow  of  the 
Finsteraarhorn  crept  over  the  snow-fields  at  its  base.     A 
dim  sea  of  fog  began  to  form,  which  after  a  time  rose  to  a 
considerable  height,  and  then  rolled  down  like  a  river  along 
the  flanks  of  the  mountain. 

13.  On  entering  the  valley  of  the  Rhone,  it  crossed  a 
precipitous  barrier,  down  which  it  poured  like  a  cataract ; 
but  long  before  it  reached  the  bottom  it  escaped  from  the 
shadow  in  which  it  had  been  engendered,  and  was  hit  once 
more  by  the  direct  beams  of  the  sun.     Its  utter  dissipation 
was  the  consequence,  and,  though  the  billows  of  fog  rolled 
on  incessantly  from  behind,  the  cloud-river  made  no  prog- 
ress, but  disappeared,  as  if  by  magic,  where  the  sunbeams 
played  upon  it.     The  conditions  were  analogous  to  those 
which  hold  in  the  case  of  a  glacier.     Here  the  ice-river  is 
incessantly  nourished  by  the  mountain  snow  :    it  moves 


MISCELLANEOUS.  365 

down  its  valley,  but  does  not  advance  in  front.  At  a  cer- 
tain point  the  consumption  by  melting  is  equal  to  the  sup- 
ply, and  here  the  glacier  ceases.  In  the  case  before  us  the 
cloud-river,  nourished  by  the  incessant  condensation  of  the 
atmospheric  vapor,  moved  down  its  valley,  but  ceased  at 
the  point  where  the  dissipating  action  of  the  sunbeams 
equaled  the  supply  from  the  cloud-generator  behind. 

Professor  John  Tyndall. 


LAKE    TAHOE. 

1.  A  LAKE,  six  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  thirty  miles 
long,  sixteen  miles  wide,  surrounded  by  mountains  from 
which  no  summer  melts  all  the  snow,  walled  round  the 
edges  by  firs  and  pines,  set  at  the  rim  in  a  Mosaic  of  pol- 
ished pebbles  and  brilliant  flowers — is  not  that  a  lake  to  be 
loved  ?    And  I  have  not  yet  said  a  word  of  its  water,  which 
is  so  blue  that  it  seems  impossible  it  should  not  stain,  and 
so  clear  that  one  can  see  fishes  swimming  more  than  a  hun- 
dred feet  below  his  boat,  and  so  cold  that  ice  would  not 
cool  it.     For  its  water  alone  it  could  be  well  loved,  if  it 
lay  in  a  desert.     It  has  had  some  hard  fortune  in  way  of 
names.     A  German  once  named  it  Lake  Bompland,  and  a 
militia  general  named  it,  after  a  governor,  Lake  Bigler. 
But  ten  years  ago,  by  some  marvelous  good  luck,  it  was  re- 
christened  by  the  old  Indian  name,  Tahoe,  pronounced  by 
the  Indians  Tah-oo,  and  meaning  "Big  Water." 

2.  To  find  Lake  Tahoe,  one  must  journey  on  the  Over- 
land Railroad  six  days  west  from  New  York,  or  one  day 
east  from  San  Francisco,  and  leave  the  cars  at  Truckee. 
Truckee  is  as  odd  as  its  name.     It  looks  so  much  as  it 
sounds  that  one  wonders  if  it  could  have  been  named  be- 
forehand.    Truckee  has  one  street.     It  is  a  broad,  rocky, 


366 


GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  367 

dusty  field.  The  railroad-track  runs  through  it — so  close 
to  the  houses  on  one  side  that  you  step  from  the  cars  to  the 
hotel  piazza.  From  the  railroad  side  to  the  other,  plank 
walks  are  laid  at  intervals  ;  but  there  is  no  road — no  sem- 
blance of  a  road — up  and  down  the  field.  Enormous  bowl- 
ders lie  here  and  there,  and  you  drive  around  them.  Poor 
Truckee  has  had  no  time  to  blast  rock  on  its  highway,  for 
it  has  been  three  times  burnt  out  in  nine  months.  Oppo- 
site the  hotel  is  a  long  line  of  low  wooden  shops,  with  a 
row  of  slender  evergreen  trees  in  front — trees  cut  down 
and  stuck  into  the  ground,  not  planted.  Beyond  these 
comes  the  Chinese  quarter — another  long  row  of  low,  hud- 
dled, rickety  wooden  buildings,  half  of  them  black  from  the 
smoke  of  the  fires,  and  all  of  them  swarming  with  shiny- 
faced  Chinese  children.  Newly  cleared  hill-slopes,  hideous 
with  blackened  stumps,  come  down  to  the  very  backs  of 
the  houses.  Truckee  sells  timber,  and  cuts  down  the  near- 
est first.  If  anybody  had  had  sense,  the  near  slopes  would 
have  been  left  covered  with  trees,  and  Truckee  would  have 
had  comfort  and  beauty  ;  but  now  it  is  stripped,  shelter- 
less, dusty,  as  if  it  had  been  set  down  in  a  rocky  Sahara. 

3.  Blackberries  and  strawberries  and  apricots  and 
peaches  and  pears  and  apples  can  be  bought  on  the  side- 
walk in  Truckee  early  in  July.  You  will  be  invited  to  an 
Indian  corn  dance,  too,  if  you  can  read  the  Indian  lan- 
guage, for  you  will  meet  the  invitations  on  all  the  corners. 
They  are  painted  in  red  and  white  and  black  on  the  fore- 
heads and  cheek-bones  of  Indian  men  and  women.  We 
supposed,  at  first,  in  our  ignorance,  that  this  was  the  usual 
style  of  promenade  paint  on  the  noble  savage  of  these  lati- 
tudes ;  but  it  was  explained  to  us  that  it  was  their  method 
of  circulating  the  news  and  extending  the  invitations  of  a 
great  festival — the  corn  dance — which  was  to  take  place  a 
few  weeks  later.  What  a  delicious  device  of  taciturnity  ! 
There  they  stood — men,  women,  wrapped  in  blankets, 


368  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

proud,  impassive,  speechless — looking  at  each  other,  and 
us,  and  the  street,  their  sharp,  fathomless  eyes  gleaming 
out  from  among  the  glistening  scarlet  and  white  hiero- 
glyphics on  their  faces.  "Request  the  pleasure  of,"  etc., 
looks  uncommonly  queer  done  in  Indian  red  over  an  eye- 
brow. But  one  needs  to  think  before  calling  it  silly  or 
barbarous.  It  has  its  merits  :  no  words  lost,  for  one  thing ; 
economical,  too,  for  another ;  and  no  replies  expected,  best 
of  all — though  one  could  not  be  sure,  perhaps,  of  this  last. 
I  do  not  know  that  a  few  days  later  the  whole  tribe  might 
not  have  been  seen  painted  in  new  colors  and  shapes,  to 
signify  their  intended  absence  or  presence. 

4.  The  road  from  Truckee  to  Lake  Tahoe  lies  along  the 
bank  of  the  Truckee  Eiver — a  small  stream,  which  comes 
foaming  and  roaring  down  from  the  High  Sierras  in  a  swift 
fashion  for  a  carrier  of  wood.     But  wood  it  carries — all  it 
can  lift  and  spin   and  whirl— every  day;  and  in  many 
places  we  saw  it  choked  full  of  the  black,  shiny  logs,  and 
groups  of  men  ("log-drivers"),  up  to  their  waists  in  the 
water,  trying  to  separate  them  and  hurry  them  along.     We 
saw  also  a  "log-shoot,"  which  is  a  fine  sight  of  a  sunny 
morning— a  yellow,  glistening  line,  from  the  top  of  the 
mountain  straight  to  the  river's  edge.     This  line  is  made 
of  split  logs,  two  abreast,  laid  lengthwise,  close,  smooth 
side  up.     Down  this  logs  are  sent  sliding  into  the  river. 
Before  the  log  is  half  way  down,  the  planks  beneath  it  are 
smoking,  blue   and   fast,  from   the   friction.      Sometimes 
they  take  fire.     As  the  log  hits  the  river-edge,  it  often 
somersaults  twice,  and  leaps  with  such  force  that  the  water 
is  thrown  up  in  a  sparkling  sheaf  higher  than  the  tops  of 
the  trees.     Four  or  five  times  over,  taking  less  than  half  a 
minute  a  time,  we  saw  this  swift,  craunching  slide,  pale 
smoke-wreath,  and  glittering  water-spout. 

5.  And  then  we  came  to  a  foundling  asylum  for  trout. 
We  went  in,  and  the  proprietor  set  all  the  infants  fighting 


MISCELLANEOUS.  369 

for  food  at  once,  to  amuse  us.  Their  dormitories  were  cool 
and  well  ventilated,  certainly,  consisting  of  a  series  of  un- 
roofed tanks  ;  and  the  chopped  liver  on  which  they  are  fed 
must  have  been  of  the  very  best  quality,  for  they  scrambled 
for  it  faster  than  beggars  ever  scrambled  for  pennies.  The 
youngest  of  all  were  put  in  shallow  covered  boxes,  with 
graveled  bottoms  and  only  a  little  water.  Those  that  were 
but  four  days  old  were  droll.  There  were  millions  of  them 
in  a  box.  They  looked  like  white  currants,  with  two  black 
beads  for  eyes,  and  a  needle-point  for  tail.  The  man  said 
they  would  be  trout  presently,  and  weigh  two  or  three 
pounds  apiece.  It  seemed  unlikelier  than  anything  1  ever 
heard. 

6.  You  are  three  hours  going  from  Truckee  to  Lake 
Tahoe,  and  it  is  so  steadily  up  hill  that  you  begin  to  won- 
der long  before  you  get  there  why  the  lake  does  not  run 
over  and  down.    At  last  you  turn  a  sharp  corner,  and  there 
lies  the  lake,  only  a  few  rods  off.     What  color  you  see  it 
depends  on  the  hour  and  the  day.    It  has  its  own  calendars 
— its  spring- times  and  winters,  its  dawns  and  darknesses — 
incalculable  by  almanacs. 

7.  It  is  apt  to  begin  by  gray,  early  in  the  morning ; 
then  the  mountains  around  it  look  like  pale  onyx,  and  the 
sky,  too,  is  gray.     Then  it  changes  to  clouded  sapphire, 
and  the  mountains  change  with  it  also  to  a  pale,  opaque 
blue  ;   then  to  brilliant,  translucent,  glittering  sapphire, 
when  the  right  sort  of  sun  reaches  just  the  right  height. 
And,  when  there  is  this  peculiar  translucent  sapphire  blue 
in  the  water,  then  the  mountains  are  of  opal  tints,  shifting 
and  changing,  as  if  heat  were  at  work  in  their  centers. 

8.  Then,  if  at  sunset  the  mountains  take  on  rose  or 
ruby  tints,   the  water  becomes  like  a  sea  of  pink  pearl 
molten  together  with  silver ;   and,  as  the   twilight  wind 
cools  it,  it  changes  to  blue,  to  green,  to  steel-gray,  to  black. 
This  is  merely  one  of  its  calendars  of  color — one  which  I 


370  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

happened  to  write  down  on  a  day  when,  lying  all  day  by  a 
second-story  window,  I  saw  no  interval  of  foreground  at 
all — only  the  sky  arching  down  to  the  lake,  and  the  lake 
reaching,  as  it  seemed,  up  to  my  window-sill.  I  felt  as 
one  might  who  sailed  in  a  hollow  globe  of  sapphire,  or 
floated  in  a  soap-bubble. 

9.  There  are   two  tiny   steamboats  on   Lake    Tahoe. 
Every  morning  one  lies  at  the  little  wharf  opposite  the 
hotel,  and  rings  its  miniature  bell  and  whistles  its  gentle 
whistle  ;  but  it  will  wait  while  the  head  waiter  puts  up 
more  lunch,  or  the  bridegroom  runs  back  for  the  forgotten 
shawl.     The  twenty  or  thirty  people  who  are  going  off  in 
her  all  know  this,  and  nobody  hurries.     There  are  several 
small  villages  on  the  shore  of  the  lake  ;  there  are  some  hot 
springs  ;  there  is  Carnelian  Beach,  where  tiny  red  and  yel- 
low carnelians  can  be  picked  up  by  handfuls  ;   there   is 
Emerald  Bay,  where  are  sharp  cliffs  many  hundred  feet 
high,  and  water  of  a  miraculous  green  color.     It  takes  all 
day  to  go  anywhere  and  come  back  in  one  of  these  boats, 
for  the  engines  are  only  of  one  tea-kettle  power.     In  fact, 
as  the  little  craft  puffs  and  wriggles  out  from  shore,  it 
looks  as  if  it  had  the  Quangle  Wangle  for  steersman,  and 
as  if  Lionel  and  his  companions  might  come  back  on  the 
rhinoceros's  back. 

10.  The  row-boats  are  better ;  and,  if  you  take  a  row- 
boat,  Fred  is  the  man  to  row  you.     Everybody  at  Lake 
Tahoe  knows  Fred.     He  it  was  who  rowed  us  out  to  one 
Sunday  service  we  shall  not  forget.     It  was  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon.     Summer   afternoons  on  Lake   Tahoe   are 
warm  till  sunset ;  never  has  the  mercury  been  known  to 
rise  above  seventy-five  degrees  in  this  magic  air ;  and  it 
rarely,  during  July  and  August,  falls  below  sixty-two  de- 
grees.    The  delight  and  the  stimulus  of  this  steady,  clear, 
crisp  air — snow-cooled,  sun-warmed,  water-fed — can  not  be 
told.     Day  after  day  of  warm  sunlight,  such  as  only  ram- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  371 

less  skies  can  show;  and  night  after  night  of  the  sleep 
which  only  cool  nights  can  give ;  almost  it  seems  to  me 
that  miracles  of  cure  might  be  wrought  on  these  shores. 

11.  The  Lake  Tahoe  House  stands  in  a  small  clearing 
on  the  shore  of  the  lake.     A  minute  and  a  half's  walk, 
chiefly  down-stairs,  and  you  are  at  the  water's  edge.     For 
a  few  rods  up  and  down  the  lake  the  trees  are  felled  ;  there 
are  also  four  or  five  small  houses  ;  but,  once  past  these, 
you  glide  instantly  into  shadow  of  the  firs  and  pines,  and 
can  believe  that  you  are  the  first  to  sail  by.     On  this  Sun- 
day we  rowed  to  the  south,  keeping  close  into  the  shore. 
Two  miles  below  the  hotel  we  had  seen  a  picturesque  lum- 
ber-mill, standing  in  another  small  clearing,  which,  from 
the  lake,  looked  like  a  flower-garden,  so  gay  was  it  with 
solid  reds  and  blues. 

12.  Searching  for  this,  we  rowed  slowly  along — now 
coming  so  near  the  shore  that  we  could  reach  the  brakes 
and  mosses,  now  striking  out  far  into  the  lake  to  go  around 
a  fallen  tree,  which  walled  our  path  as  effectually  as  if  we 
had  been  on  foot  in  the  woods.     As  we  drew  near  the  mill, 
and  saw  the  gay  colors  more  distinctly,  we  looked  at  each 
other  in  speechless  wonder.    We  had  seen  fields  yellow  with 
the  eschscholtzia,  and  spots  so  blue  with  blue  larkspur  that 
we  had  taken  them  for  ponds  ;  but  never  had  we  seen  such 
radiance  of  color  as  this.     Spaces  six  feet,  ten  feet,  twelve 
feet  square,  set  thick  with  the  scarlet-painted  cups,  grow- 
ing and  flowering  in  such  fullness  it  hardly  looked  like  it- 
self, and  fully  justified  its  common  name  in  California — 
"Painter's  Brush." 

13.  Mingling  with  this,  also,  in  great  solid  spaces,  a 
light  blue  forget-me-not,  flowering  in  full  heads  ;  two  other 
blue  flowers  grew  in  great  profusion  all  about ;  one  grew  in 
low  clumps.     The  flowers,  were  set  on  the  stem  like  the 
foxglove   flowers,   but   three   rows   thick,   making   a  wide 
spike,  which  on  its  front  gleamed  like  a  row  of  blue  steel 

25 


372  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER 

tube-mouths,  so  deep  was  the  color,  so  lustrous  the  surface. 
The  other  blue  flower  was  like  a  snap-dragon,  and  grew  on 
slenderer  stems.  Then  there  was  a  royal  pennyroyal,  with 
white  flowers  in  heads  like  clovers  ;  and  a  graceful  branch- 
ing plant,  full  of  small  trumpet-shaped  blossoms,  of  a  vivid 
cherry  red.  We  gathered  them  not  by  handfuls  or  by 
bunches,  but  by  armfuls,  and  staggered  back  into  the  boat, 
literally  loaded  down. 

14.  Then  we  said  to  Fred  : 

"Now  row  us  back  to  that  thicker  part  of  the  wood 
where  we  saw  those  fine  green  ferns." 

Jumping  out  to  get  the  ferns,  and  going  a  few  steps 
into  the  wood,  we  came  upon  a  still  more  wonderful  spot. 
The  water  of  the  lake  had  made  up  in  the  spring  into  a 
small  hollow  among  the  bushes  ;  this  was  now  left  green  as 
a  river  meadow.  It  was  not  more  than  ten  or  twelve  feet 
either  way,  and  the  grass  in  the  center  was  wet  and  rank. 
On  its  outer  edges  grew  red  lilies,  scarlet  columbines,  high 
green  brakes,  and  willows ;  but  these  were  not  its  glory. 
Tall,  stately,  white  as  Annunciation  lilies,  there  stood  forty 
or  fifty  spikes  of  a  flower  we  had  never  seen.  It  was  from 
two  to  five  feet  high.  The  blossoms  were  small,  resembling 
syringa  blossoms,  but  set  thick  on  long,  tasseling  stems,  as 
corn  blossoms  are ;  and  these  again  massed  thick  around 
the  central  stem,  making  a  branching,  drooping,  and  yet 
erect  and  stately  spike,  not  unlike  the  spike  of  the  flower 
of  the  Indian  corn,  except  that  it  was  much  thicker  and 
more  solid.  It  was  the  most  regal  flower  I  ever  saw  grow- 
ing. Among  these  were  growing  many  lower  spikes  of  a 
tiny  white  flower,  like  our  lady's-tresses.  But  even  these 
spikes  of  this  tiny  flower  were  at  least  two  inches  in  circum- 
ference at  the  bottom,  tapering  up  to  the  top  exquisitely. 

15.  Again  loaded  with  sheaves,  we  climbed  back  into 
the  boat.    Fred  looked  on  wonderingly.    There  was  no  room 
to  step,  to  sit.     He  never  carried  such  multitudes  before. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  373 

"  Now  row  out,  Fred,  into  the  middle  of  the  lake,"  we 
said,  as  we  sank  down. 

By  this  time  the  sunsetting  had  begun.  The  sky  and 
the  mountains  and  the  water  were  all  turning  rose-pink ; 
and  we  came  shooting  anon  in  the  midst  of  the  rose-color, 
bringing  our  fiery  reds  and  stately  white.  We  set  the  tall 
snowy  spikes  upright  along  the  sides  of  the  boat ;  great 
nodding  yellow  disks,  too,  of  the  elecampane,  and  the  ver- 
milion bells  of  columbine.  Then  we  made  one  huge  bou- 
quet of  the  scarlet-painted  cups  and  the  blue  forget-me-nots ; 
one  of  the  red  trumpet  flower  and  the  white  pennyroyal, 
with  a  solid  base  of  the  mysterious  dark-blue  flowers  ;  one 
of  the  white  lady's- tresses,  with  the  red  trumpets  ;  and  one 
of  the  stately  white  spikes,  with  branching  ferns.  Then, 
setting  these  up  as  royal  passengers,  we  lay  down  humbly 
at  their  feet,  and,  with  our  heads  low,  looked  off  over  the 
rose-colored  waters.  Much  I  doubt  if  so  gorgeous  a  pa- 
geant will  ever  float  again  on  that  water. 

16.  The  next  day  we  rowed  early  in  the  morning.    Fred 
had  assured  us  that,  in  a  still  morning,  one  could  see  the 
bottom  of  the  lake  where  it  was  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
feet  deep.    We  doubted,  but  longed  to  believe.     The  water 
was  like  glass.     We  rowed  out  toward  the  center  of  the 
lake.     The   snow-covered   mountains  on  the  farther  side 
were  reflected  in  long,  white,  shimmering  columns  on  the 
purple  surface  of  the  water. 

17.  "Thirty,"  "fifty,"   "sixty,"   "one  hundred  feet 
deep,"  Fred  called  .out  from  time  to  time,  as  he  rowed 
steadily  on.     And  we,  hanging  half  out  of  the  boat,  ex- 
claimed  with    irrepressible   wonder  at    the   golden-brown 
world  below,  into  which  we  were  gazing.     We  could  see 
the  bottom   of   the  lake  as  clearly  as  we  could    see    the 
bottom   of   the   boat.      It   was   a   dusty  field,  with  huge 
bowlders,    covered    with    a    soft     brown     growth,    which 
made   them  look    like    gigantic    sponges.      Then   would 


374  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

come  great  ledges  of  rock ;  then  dark  hollows,  unfath- 
omably  deep. 

"  I  shpect  if  she  be  dry  she  be  shust  like  these  mount- 
ains," said  Fred — "all  canons  and  pig  beaks." 

And  in  a  moment  more  :  "Here  it  ish  one  hunder  fif- 
teen feet  clear,"  he  called  out,  triumphantly,  and  lifted  his 
oars. 

Not  a  stone  was  indistinct.  We  could  count  small  ones. 
It  seemed  as  if  we  could  touch  them  with  ease  ;  and,  swift 
as  an  arrow,  apparently  within  our  hand's  reach,  went  by  a 
shining  trout. 

"  How  far  down  was  he,  Fred  ?  "  we  called. 

"Ach!  Don't  know.  Maype  fifty  feet,"  said  Fred. 
The  trout  were  an  old  story  to  him. 

18.  But  it  was  when  we  turned  to  row  back  that  the 
full  wonder  of  such  a  transparent  sea  was  revealed  to  us. 
The  sun  was  behind  us.     As  we  looked  over  the  bows,  we 
could  see  the  shadow  of  our  boat,  of  our  heads,  of  the  mov- 
ing oars,  all  distinct  on  the  soft  brown  bottom  of  the  lake. 
This  shadow  lay  off  to  the  left,  a  little  ahead,  gliding  as  we 
glided,  pausing  as  we  paused  ;  then,  directly  ahead,  gliding 
as  we  glided,  pausing  as  we  paused,  went  another  double, 
equally  distinct,  but  dark  and  shimmering  on  the  surface. 
This  was  the  reflection.     Over  the  edges  of  this  phantom 
boat  we  seemed  to  be  leaning  with  even  more  eagerness 
than  over  the  edges  of  the  one  below.     It  was  an  uncanny 
sight.     To  have  two  shadows  would  have  been  too  much 
for  even  Peter  Schlemihl.     It  added  much  to  the  unreality 
of  the  sight  that  every  round  stone,  every  small  object  on 
the  bottom,  was  surrounded  by  a  narrow  line  of  rainbow. 
These  gave  a  fantastic  gayety  to   the   soft  amber-brown 
realm,  and,  beautiful  as  they  made  it,  made  it  also  seem 
more  supernatural. 

19.  "You  pe  shust  in  time,"  called  Fred.     "In  two 
minute  you  not  see  nothing.     There  vill  pe  vint." 


MISCELLANEO  US.  375 

Sure  enough.  Already  the  ripple  was  in  sight,  coming 
rapidly  toward  us  from  the  north.  The  air  stirred  faintly, 
our  glass  sea  quivered  and  broke  noiselessly  under  us,  and 
the  phantom  boat  below  disappeared. 

As  we  rowed  on  the  shallower  water,  nearing  the  shore, 
where  we  could  still  see  the  bottom  distinctly,  the  effects 
of  the  sunlight  on  it  were  exquisite.  It  lay  in  lapping  and 
interlacing  circles  and  ovals  of  yellow,  and  the  surface  rip- 
ples were  reflected  there  in  larger  lines.  The  reflection  of 
the  oars  in  the  water  on  each  side  of  us  looked  like  golden 
snakes,  swimming  fast  alongside,  and  the  beautiful  rainbow 
lines  still  edged  every  object  on  the  bottom. 

H.H. 


COLORADO  SCENERY. 

1.  THE  famous  Garden  of  the  Gods,  for  which  every- 
body asks  as  soon  as  he  enters  Colorado,  and  which  nine 
out  of  ten  people  see  for  the  first  time  with  a  ludicrous 
sense  of  disappointment,  is  another  of  these  strange,  rock- 
crowded  parks.     Who  is  responsible  for  the  inappropriate 
name  Garden  of  the  Gods,  I  do  not  know  :  one  more  sig- 
nally unfitting  could  hardly  have  been  chosen.     Fortress  of 
the  Gods,  or  Tombs  of  the  Giants,  would  be  better. 

2.  This  park  lies  only  three  miles  from  Colorado  Springs, 
and  its  grand  gateway  is  in  full  sight  from  every  part  of  the 
town.     Fancy  two  red  sandstone  rocks  three  hundred  feet 
high,  of  irregular  outline  and  surface,  rising  abruptly  and 
perpendicularly  like  a  wall,  with  a  narrow  passage-way  be- 
tween them.     The  rock  on  your  right,  as  you  enter  from 
the  east,  is  of  the  deepest  brick-red  ;  the  one  on  the  left  is 
paler,  more  of  a  flesh-color.    At  their  base  is  a  thick  growth 
of  low  oak  bushes,  vivid  light  green  in  summer,  in  winter  a 


376  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

scarcely  less  vivid  brown,  for  many  of  the  leaves  hang  on 
until  April.  These  rocks  are  literally  fretted  full  of  holes 
and  rifts ;  tiny  round  holes  as  smooth  as  if  an  auger  had 
bored  them  ;  ghastly  crevices  and  chasms  smoothed  and 
hollowed  like  sockets  in  gigantic  skeletons. 

3.  Thousands  of  swallows  have  nests  in  these,  and  at 
sunset  it  is  a  beautiful  sight  to  see  them  circling  high  in 
the  air,  perching  for  a  moment  on  the  glittering  red  spires 
and  pinnacles  at  top  of  the  wall,  and  then  swooping  down- 
ward and  disappearing  suddenly  where  no  aperture  is  to  be 
seen,  as  if  with  their  little  bills  they  had  cloven  way  for 
themselves  into  the  solid  rock.     Within  a  few  feet  of  the 
top  of  the  highest  spire  on  the  right-hand  rock  is  a  small 
diamond-shaped   opening,   a   mullioned   window,   through 
which  is  always  to  be  seen  the  same  diamond-shaped  bit  of 
sky,  bright  blue  or  soft  gray,  or  shadowy  white  if  a  cloud 
happens  to  pause  so  as  to  fill  the  space. 

4.  I  once  had  the  good  fortune  to  see  a  white-breasted 
sparrow  sit  motionless  for  some  minutes  on  a  point  of  rock 
just  above  this  window,  when  the  sky  was  clear  blue  and 
the  rock  vivid  red  in  a  blazing  sunlight.     Such  a  picture 
as  that  was,  three  hundred  feet  up  in  the  air,  one  does  not 
see  more  than  once  in  a  life-time.     The  sparrow's  white 
breast  looked  like  a  tiny  fleece  of  white  cloud  caught  on 
the  rock.     Not  till  two  dark  wings  suddenly  opened  out 
and  bore  the  white  fleece  upward  did  I  know  that  it  was  a 
bird. 

5.  Passing  through   this  majestic   gateway,   you   find 
yourself  in  the  weirdest  of  places ;  your  red  road  winds 
along  over  red  ground  thinly  grass-grown,  among  low  ce- 
dars, pines,  and  firs,  and  through  a  wild  confusion  of  red 
rocks — rocks  of  every  conceivable  and  inconceivable  shape 
and  size,  from  pebbles  up  to  gigantic  bowlders,  from  queer, 
grotesque  little  monstrosities,  looking  like  seals,  fishes,  cats, 
or  masks,  up  to  colossal  monstrosities  looking  like  elephants, 


MISCELLANEOUS.  377 

like  huge  gargoyles,  like  giants,  like  sphinxes  eighty  feet 
high,  all  bright  red,  all  motionless  and  silent,  with  a  strange 
look  of  having  been  just  stopped  and  held  back  in  the  very 
climax  of  some  supernatural  catastrophe*  The  stillness, 
the  absence  of  living  things,  the  preponderance  of  grotesque 
shapes,  the  expression  of  arrested  action,  give  to  the  whole 
place,  in  spite  of  its  glory  of'coloring,  spite  of  the  grandeur 
of  its  vistas  ending  in  snow-covered  peaks  only  six  miles 
away,  spite  of  its  friendly  and  familiar  cedars  and  pines, 
spite  of  an  occasional  fragrance  of  clematis  or  smile  of  a 
daisy  or  twitter  of  a  sparrow — spite  of  all  these,  a  certain 
uncanniness  of  atmosphere  which  is  at  first  oppressive.  I 
doubt  if  one  ever  loved  the  Garden  of  the  Gods  at  first 
sight.  One  must  feel  his  way  to  its  beauty  and  rareness, 
must  learn  it  like  a  new  language  ;  even  if  one  has  known 
Nature's  tongues  well,  he  will  be  a  helpless  foreigner  here. 
6.  A  mile  to  the  north  of  the  Garden  of  the  Gods  is  a 
very  beautiful  little  park,  walled  in  by  high  hills  and  sand- 
stone rocks  of  many  colors,  red,  pink,  yellow,  and  pale 
gray,  stained  dark  green  and  brown -and-red  in  markings  so 
fantastic  and  capricious,  it  seems  impossible  that  they  are 
not  painted.  The  outlet  from  this  little  nook  to  the  north 
is  a  narrow  canon,  little  more  than  a  cleft  in  the  rocks.  A 
snow-fed  brook  runs  down  through  this  canon  and  zigzags 
through  the  little  park,  making  it  a  luxuriant  garden  of 
cotton-wood  trees,  shrubs,  and  vines,  and  all  manner  of 
flowers.  The  rocks  here  are  so  towering  and  grand  that, 
except  for  the  relief  of  their  brilliant  hues,  and  the  tender 
leafing  and  flowering  things  around  them,  they  would  be 
overawing.  There  are  single  shafts  like  obelisks  or  mina- 
rets, slender,  pointed,  one  or  two  hundred  feet  high  ;  huge 
slabs  laid  tier  upon  tier  like  giant  sarcophagi ;  fretted  and 
turreted  masses  like  abbeys  fallen  into  ruin  :  and  all  these 
are  red  or  painted  in  mosaic  tints  of  green-and-brown  and 
black-and-yellow.  This  is  called  Glen  Eyrie.  In  it  there 


378 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 


is  a  beautiful  home,  and  the  voices  of  little  children  are 
often  heard  high  up  on  the  rock  walls,  where  they  seem  as 


Major  Domo,  Glen  Eyrie,  Colorado. 

contented  and  as  safe  as  the  goats  which  are  their  comrades. 

7.  I  will  describe  but  one  more  of  these  parks ;  I  am 

told  that  there  are  scores  of  them  all  along  the  range  of 


MISCELLANEOUS.  379 

foot-hills  running  northward  from  Colorado  Springs.  I  do 
n.ot  believe  that  among  the  scores  is  one  to  be  found  so 
beautiful  as  Blair  Athol.  I  do  not  believe  that  in  all  the 
earth  is  a  spot  to  be  found  more  beautiful  than  Blair  Athol, 
unless  possibly  it  may  be  some  of  the  wild  flower-gardens 
nestled  at  the  base  of  the  dolomites  in  the  Tyrol.  Will 
there  ever  arise  in  Colorado  a  master  to  paint  her  rocks 
and  mountains  in  the  backgrounds  of  immortal  pictures  as 
Titian  painted  the  dolomites  ? 

8.  Blair  Athol  lies  six  miles  to  the  northwest  of  Colo- 
rado Springs.     Its  name  has  a  charm  of  sound  which  is  not 
lessened  when  you  know  that  the  Scotchman  who  owns  and 
named  it  added  to  his  own  name,  Blair,  the  name  of  Athol, 
by  reason  of  his  love  for  house  and  lands  of  that  name  in 
Scotland.     It  is  a  spot  fit  for  a  clan  and  a  chieftain.     It 
lies  lonely  and  still,  biding  its   time.      The  road  which 
leads  into  it  is  so  grass-grown  that  it  is  hard  to  find.     The 
spot  where  it  turns  off  from  the  main  highway  is  sure  to  be 
overlooked  unless  one  keeps  a  close  watch.     It  seems  not 
to  promise  much,  this  rough,  grass-grown  track.     It  points 
toward  foot-hills  which  are  low  and  close-set,  and  more 
than  usually  bare. 

9.  But  in  Colorado  roads  any  minute's  bend  to  right  or 
left  may  give  you  a  delicious  surprise,  a  new  peak,  a  far 
vista,  a  changed  world.     The  Blair  Athol  road,  taking  a 
sudden  curve  to  the  left,  shows  you  such  a  vista  :  a  fore- 
ground of  low  oaks  and  pines,   the  hills  falling  away  to 
right  and  left  and  revealing  the  mouth  of  a  glen  walled 
thickly  across  by  high  pines  ;  through  this  solid  wall  of 
green,  fantastic  gleams  of  deep  red  and  rose-pink  ;  rising 
above  it,  a  spire  or  two  of  bright  yellow  ;  on  the  left  hand, 
sharp  ridges  of  dark,  iron-stained  sandstone,  green,  gray, 
yellow,  black  ;  on  the  right  hand>  low,  mound-shaped  hills, 
densely  grown  with  pines  and  firs,  the  soil  shining  red  be- 
low them. 


380  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

10.  As  the  road  winds  in,  the  rocks  seem  almost  to 
wheel  and  separate,  so  many  new  vistas  open  between  the 
pines,  so  many  new  rocks  come  in  sight.     A  few  steps  far- 
ther, and  the  way  seems  suddenly  barred  by  a  huge  mass  of 
yellow  rock ;  a  broad  light  streams  in  from  the  left,  the 
south ;  there  lies  open  country.     Close  to  the  base  of  this 
yellow  rock-wall  the  road  clings,  still  in  shade  of  the  pines, 
and  turns  an  abrupt  corner  to  the  left.     You  are  in  the 
park.    The  yellow  rock  round  which  you  have  turned  is  its 
east  wall ;  to  the  west  it  is  walled  with  rocks,  rose-color  and 
white ;  to  the  north  with  high,  conical,  pine-grown  hills ; 
to  the  south  with  sharp,  almost  pyramidal,  hills  and  masses 
of  detached  and  piled  rocks,  dark  red  and  rose-color. 

11.  It  is  smooth  as  a  meadow ;  its  curves  rise  to  the 
bases  of  the  rocks  gently  and  lingeringly.     Groups  of  pines 
make  wide,  fringed  circles  of  shades  here  and  there  ;  blue 
anemones,  if  it  is  a  June  day,  dot  the  ground.     A  few  rods 
farther  there  is  a  break  in  the  eastern  wall,  and  framed  in 
this  frame  of  a  yellow  rock  is  a  broad  picture  of  the  distant 
plains  in  bars  of  sunlight  and  shadow,  gold  and  purple. 
This  is  the  view  on  which  must  look  the  eastern  and  south- 
ern piazzas  of  the  house  when  it  is  built,  and  to  that  end 
Nature  has  left  clear  the  slight  eminence  a  little  to  the 
north  of  the  center  of  the  park.     No  man  building  here 
could  think  of  building  elsewhere  than  on  this  rise,  and  it 
is  surely  an  odd  thing  that  not  a  pine  has  set  foot  in  it ; 
that  they  have  grouped  themselves  all  about  it,  with  as  ex- 
quisite a  consideration  as  the  king's  head  gardener  could 
have  shown. 

12.  Presently  the  road  stops  short  on  the  brink  of  a 
ravine,  in  which  once  there  must  have  been  water,  for  it  is 
full  of  vines  and  shrubs,  a  tangle  of  green.     Because  the 
ravine  is  not  bridged,  we  turn  to  the  right ;  there  is  just 
room  to  creep  round  the  base  of  the  west  wall  of  red  rock. 
Turning  this,  lo  !  we  are  in  another  little  park,  wilder  and 


I  UK 


V.\  E 

OK    THK 

TJNIVERS: 


MISCELLANEOUS.  381 

more  beautiful  than  the  first.  The  ground  is  more  broken, 
and  there  are  thick  copses  of  low  oaks  and  pines.  The  red 
wall  on  this  side  is  even  stranger  and  more  fantastic  than 
on  the  other.  It  leans  and  topples,  keeping  all  the  while  a 
general  slant  northwest  and  southeast,  which  is,  no  doubt, 
to  the  geologist  an  important  feature  in  its  record.  At  its 
base,  huge  dark-red  and  pale  rose-colored  bowlders  are  piled 
in  confusion  ;  its  top  is  jagged  ;  isolated  peaks  and  projec- 
tions on  its  sides  seem  to  have  been  wrought  and  carven — 
one  into  a  great  stone  chair,  one  into  a  canopied  sounding- 
board.  The  stone  is  worn  out  in  hollows  and  crevices  into 
which  you  can  thrust  your  arm  up  to  the  elbow.  In  these, 
generations  of  conies  and  squirrels  have  kept  their  "feast 
of  the  acorn,"  and  left  the  shells  behind.  This  wall  is  on 
your  right ;  on  the  left,  low  mounds  and  hills,  with  groves 
of  pines  in  front,  pines  so  thick  that  you  get  only  glimpses 
through  them  of  the  hills  behind. 

13.  Soon  the  road  ceases,  dies  away  as  if  the  last  traveler 
had  been  caught  up,  at  this  point,  into  the  air.     A  deli- 
cious sense  of  being  in   the  wilderness   steals   over  you. 
Climbing  up  on  one  of  the  ridges  of  the  right-hand  wall, 
you  look  down  into  the  first  park,  and  out  across  it  to  the 
plains.     Seen  from  this  height,  the  grouping  of  the  pines 
seems  even  more  marvelous  than  before.     It  is  impossible 
to  leave  off  wondering  what  law  determined  it,  if  a  land- 
scape instinct  and  a  prophetic  sense  of  unbuilt  homes  be  in 
the  very  veins  of  Colorado  pines.     The  outlook  eastward 
from  this  ridge  is  grand.     It  is  the  one  which  the  upper 
windows  of  the  house  will  command  :  in  the  foreground  the 
huge  yellow  rock,  three  hundred  feet  long  and  from  one  to 
two  hundred  feet  high  ;  beyond  this  a  line  of  bluffs,  then 
an  interval  of  undulating  plains,  then  another  line  of  bluffs, 
and  then  the  true  plains,  far,  soft,  and  blue,  as  if  they"  were 
an  outlying  ocean  in  which  the  world  was  afloat. 

14.  Immediately  below  this  ridge  lies  the  exquisite  little 


382  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

cup-like  park,  with  its  groups  of  pines.  The  rocks  of  its 
western  wall,  seen  from  this  point,  are  'not  only  dark  red 
and  pale  rose  :  they  show  intricate  markings  of  white  and 
gray  and  yellow  ;  the  tints  are  as  varied  and  beautifully 
combined  as  you  would  see  in  a  bed  of  September  asters. 
Underneath  your  feet  the  hollows  of  the  rock  are  filled  in 
and  matted  with  dry  pine  needles ;  here  and  there,  in  a 
crevice,  grows  a  tiny  baby  pine,  and  now  and  then  gleams 
out  a  smooth  white  pebble,  cast  up  by  some  ancient  wave, 
and  wedged  tight  in  the  red  sandstone. 

15.  As  you  climb  higher  and  higher  to  the  north,  there 
are  more  rocks,  more  vistas,  more  pines  and  low  oaks,  a 
wilder  and  wilder  confusion  of  bowlders.  When  you  reach 
the  summit,  the  whole  northern  horizon  swings  slowly  into 
view,  and  completes  the  semicircle  of  plains  by  the  dark- 
blue  belt  of  the  Divide.  At  the  very  top  of  this  pinnacle 
is  an  old  pine  tree,  whose  gnarled  roots  hold  great  bowlders 
in  their  clutch  as  eagles  hold  prey.  If  the  tree  were  to 
blow  off,  some  one  of  the  days  when  the  wind  blows  ninety 
miles  an  hour  in  Colorado,  it  looks  as  if  it  must  go  whirl- 
ing through  the  air  with  the  rocks  still  tight  in  its  talons. 
There  seems  no  soil  here,  yet  the  kinni-kinnick  vines  have 
spread  shining  mats  of  thick  green  all  around  the  base  of 
the  tree.  The  green  of  these  and  the  pine,  the  bright 
brown  of  the  fallen  cones,  the  shading  and  multiplying 
reds  of  the  gigantic  rocks,  the  yellow  and  blue  of  the  far-off 
plains,  the  white  and  blue  of  the  far-off  sky — all  these 
crowd  on  the  sight  as  you  sit  on  this  crowning  pinnacle  of 
Blair  Athol. 

H.H. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  383 


SYDNEY  SMITH'S  REVIEW  OF  WATERTON'S  TRAVELS. 

1.  MK.  WATERTON"  is  a  gentleman  of  Yorkshire,  of  good 
fortune,  who,  instead  of  passing  his  life  at  balls  and  assem- 
blies, has  preferred  living  with  Indians  and  monkeys  in  the 
forests  of  Guiana.     He  appears  in  early  life  to  have  been 
seized  with  an  unconquerable  aversion  to  Piccadilly,  and  to 
that  train  of  meteorological  questions  and  answers  which 
forms  the  great  staple  of  polite  English  conversation.    From 
a  dislike  to  the  regular  form  of  a  journal,  he  throws  his 
travels  into  detached  pieces,  which  he,  rather  affectedly, 
calls  Wanderings— and  of  which  we  shall  proceed  to  give 
some  account. 

2.  His  first  Wandering  was  in  the  year  1812,  through 
the  wilds  of  Demerara  and  Essequibo,  a  part  of  Dutch 
Guiana,  in  South  America.     The  sun  exhausted  him  by 
day,  the  mosquitoes  bit  him  by  night ;  but  on  went  Mr. 
Charles  Waterton ! 

3.  The  first  thing  which  strikes  us  in  this  extraordinary 
chronicle  is   the  genuine   zeal   and   inexhaustible   delight 
with  which  all  the  barbarous  countries  he  visits  are  de- 
scribed.    He  seems  to  love  the  forests,  the  tigers,  and  the 
apes  ;  to  be  rejoiced  that  he  is  the  only  man  there  ;  that  he 
has  left  his  species  far  away  ;  and  is  at  last  in  the  midst  of 
his  blessed  baboons  !     He  writes  with  force  and  vigor  ;  and 
contrives  to  infuse  into  his  reader  that  admiration  of  the 
great  works,  and  undisturbed  scenes  of  Nature,  which  ani- 
mates his  style,  and  has  influenced  his  life  and  practice. 
There  is  something,  too,  to  be  highly  respected  and  praised 
in  the  conduct  of  a  country  gentleman  who,  instead  of  ex- 
hausting life  in  the  chase,  has  dedicated  a  considerable 
portion  of  it  to  the  pursuit  of  knowledge. 

4.  Mr.  Waterton  complains  that  the  trees  of  Guiana  are 
aot  more  than  six  yards  in  circumference — a  magnitude  in 


384  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

trees  which  it  is  not  easy  for  a  Scotch  imagination  to  reach. 
Among  these,  pre-eminent  in  height,  rises  the  mora — upon 
whose  top  branches,  when  naked  by  age,  or  dried  by  ac- 
cident, is  perched  the  toucan,  too  high  for  the  gun  of  the 
fowler  ;  around  this  are  the  green  heart,  famous  for  hard- 
ness ;  the  tough  hackea ;  the  ducalabali,  surpassing  ma- 
hogany ;  the  ebony  and  letterwood,  exceeding  the  most 
beautiful  woods  of  the  Old  World  ;  the  locust-tree,  yielding 
copal ;  and  the  hayawa  and  olou-trees,  furnishing  sweet- 
smelling  resin.  Upon  the  top  of  the  mora  grows  the  fig- 
tree.  The  bush-rope  joins  tree  and  tree,  so  as  to  render 
the  forest  impervious,  as,  descending  from  on  high,  it  takes 
root  as  soon  as  its  extremity  touches  the  ground,  and  ap- 
pears like  shrouds  and  stays  supporting  the  mainmast  of  a 
line-of-battle  ship. 

5.  Dernerara  yields  to  no  country  in  the  world  in  her 
birds.  The  mud  is  flaming  with  the  scarlet  curlew.  At 
sunset  the  pelicans  return  from  the  sea  to  the  courada  trees. 
Among  the  flowers  are  the  humming-birds.  The  colum- 
bine, gallinaceous,  and  passerine  tribes  people  the  fruit- 
trees.  At  the  close  of  day,  the  vampires,  or  winged  bats, 
suck  the  blood  of  the  traveler,  and  cool  him  by  the  flap  of 
their  wings.  Nor  has  Nature  forgotten  to  amuse  herself 
here  in  the  composition  of  snakes  :  the  camoudi  has  been,, 
killed  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  long  ;  he  does  not  act  by 
venom,  but  by  size  and  convolution.  The  Spaniards  affirm 
that  he  grows  to  the  length  of  eighty  feet,  and  that  he  will 
swallow  a  bull ;  but  Spaniards  love  the  superlative.  There 
is  a  whipsnake,  of  a  beautiful  green.  The  labarri  snake,  of 
a  dirty  brown,  who  kills  you  in  a  few  minutes.  Every 
lovely  color  under  heaven  is  lavished  upon  the  counachou- 
chi,  the  most  venomous  of  reptiles,  and  known  by  the  name 
of  the  bush-master.  Man  and  beast,  says  Mr.  Waterton, 
fly  before  him,  and  allow  him  to  pursue  an  undisputed 
path. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  385 

6.  We  consider  the  following  description  of  the  various 
sounds  in  these  wild  regions  as  very  striking  : 

"He  whose  eye  can  distinguish  the  various  beauties  of 
uncultivated  nature,  and  whose  ear  .is  not  shut  to  the  wild 
sounds  in  the  woods,  will  be  delighted  in  passing  up  the 
river  Demerara.  Every  now  and  then  the  maam  or  tina- 
mou  sends  forth  one  long  and  plaintive  whistle  from  the 
depth  of  the  forest  and  then  stops ;  while  the  yelping  of 
the  toucan,  and  the  shrill  voice  of  the  bird  called  pi-pi-yo, 
are  heard  during  the  interval.  The  campanero  never  faib 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  passenger ;  at  a  distance  of 
nearly  three  miles  you  may  hear  this  snow-white  bird  toll- 
ing every  four  or  five  minutes,  like  the  distant  convent 
bell.  From  six  to  nine  in  the  morning  the  forests  resound 
with  the  mingled  cries  and  strains  of  the  feathered  race ; 
after  this  they  gradually  die  away.  From  eleven  to  three 
all  Nature  is  hushed  as  in  a  midnight  silence,  and  scarce  a 
note  is  heard,  saving  that  of  the  campanero  and  the  pi-pi- 
yo  ;  it  is  then  that,  oppressed  by  the  solar  heat,  the  birds 
retire  to  the  thickest  shade,  and  wait  for  the  refreshing 
cool  of  evening. 

7.  "At  sundown  the  vampires,  bats,  and  goat-suckers 
dart  from  their  lonely  retreat,  and  skim  along  the  trees  on 
the  river's  bank.     The  different  kinds  of  frogs  almost  stun 
the  ear  with  their  hoarse  and  hollow-sounding  croaking, 
while  the  owls  and  goat-suckers  lament  and  mourn  all  night 
long. 

8.  "About  two  hours  before  daybreak  you  will  hear  the 
red  monkey  moaning  as  though  in  deep  distress  ;  the  hou* 
tou,  a  solitary  bird,  and  only  found  in  the  thickest  recesses 
of  the  forest,  distinctly  articulates  '  houtou,  houtou/  in  a 
low  and  plaintive  tone,  an  hour  before  sunrise  ;  the  maam 
whistles  about  the  same  hour  ;  the  hannaquoi,  pataca,  and 
maroudi  announce  his  near  approach  to  the  eastern  horizon, 
and  the  parrots  and  paroquets  confirm  his  arrival  there." 


386  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

9.  In  regard  to  outfit  our  author  gives  the  following 
advice  to  travelers  who  are  about  to  enter  the  forests  of 
Guiana : 

"Leave  behind  you  your  high-seasoned  dishes,  your 
wines,  and  your  delicacies  ;  carry  nothing  but  what  is  nec- 
essary for  your  own  comfort,  and  the  object  in  view,  and 
depend  upon  the  skill  of  an  Indian,  or  your  own,  for  fish 
and  game.  A  sheet,  about  twelve  feet  long,  ten  wide, 
painted,  and  with  loop-holes  on  each  side,  will  be  of  great 
service ;  in  a  few  minutes  you  can  suspend  it  betwixt  two 
trees  in  the  shape  of  a  roof.  Under  this,  in  your  hammock, 
you  may  defy  the  pelting  shower,  and  sleep  heedless  of  the 
dews  of  night.  A  hat,  a  shirt,  and  a  light  pair  of  trousers, 
will  be  all  the  raiment  you  require.  Custom  will  soon  teach 
you  to  tread  lightly  and  barefoot  on  the  little  inequalities 
of  the  ground,  and  show  you  how  to  pass  on,  unwounded, 
amid  the  mantling  briers." 

10.  Snakes  are  certainly  an  annoyance  ;  but  the  snake, 
though  high-spirited,  is  not  quarrelsome  ;  he  considers  his 
fangs  to  be  given  for  defense,  and  not  for  annoyance,  and 
never  inflicts  a  wound  but  to  defend  existence.     If  you 
tread  upon  him,  he  puts  you  to  death  for  your  clumsiness, 
merely  because  he  does  not  understand  what  your  clumsi- 
ness means ;  and  certainly  a  snake,  who  feels  fourteen  or 
fifteen  stone  stamping  upon  his  tail,  has  little  time  for  re- 
flection, and  may  be  allowed  to  be  poisonous  and  peevish. 
American  tigers  generally  run  away — from  which  several 
respectable  gentlemen  in  Parliament  inferred,  in  the  Ameri- 
can war,  that  American  soldiers  would  run  away  also  ! 

11.  The  description  of  the  birds  is  very  animated  and 
interesting  ;  but  how  far  does  the  gentle  reader  imagine 
the  campanero  may  be  heard,  whose  size  is  that  of  a  jay  ? 
Perhaps  three  hundred  yards.      Poor  innocent,   ignorant 
reader  !  unconscious  of  what  Nature  has  done  in  the  forests 
of  Cayenne,  and  measuring  the  force  of  tropical  intonation 


MISCELLANEOUS,  387 

by  the  sounds  of  a  Scotch  duck  !  The  campanero  may  be 
heard  three  miles  !  this  single  little  bird  being  more  pow- 
erful than  the  belfry  of  a  cathedral,  ringing  for  a  new  dean 
— just  appointed  on  account  of  shabby  politics,  small  un- 
derstanding, and  good  family ! 

12.  "  The  fifth  species  is  the  celebrated  campanero  of 
the  Spaniards,  called  dara  by  the  Indians,  and  bell-bird  by 
the  English.     He  is  about  the  size  of  the  jay.     His  plumage 
is  white  as  snow.     On  his  forehead  rises  a  spiral  tube  nearly 
three  inches  long.     It  is  jet  black,  dotted  all  over  with 
small  white  feathers.     It  has  a  communication  with  the 
palate,  and,  when  filled  with  air,  looks  like  a  spire ;  when 
empty,  it  becomes  pendulous.     His  note  is  loud  and  clear, 
like  the  sound  of  a  bell,  and  may  be  heard  at  a  distance  of 
three  miles.     In  the  midst  of  these  extensive  wilds,  gen- 
erally on  the  dried  top  of  an  aged  mora,  almost  out  of  gun- 
reach,  you  will  see  the  campanero.     No  sound  or  song  from 
any  of  the  winged  inhabitants  of  the  forest,  not  even  the 
clearly  pronounced  '  Whip-poor- Will '  from  the  goat-sucker, 
causes  such  astonishment  as  the  toll  of  the  campanero. 

' '  With  many  of  the  feathered  race  he  pays  the  common 
tribute  of  a  morning  and  an  evening  song  ;  and  even  when 
the  meridian  sun  has  shut  in  silence  the  mouths  of  almost 
the  whole  of  animated  nature,  the  campanero  still  cheers 
the  forest.  You  hear  his  toll,  and  then  a  pause  for  a  min- 
ute, then  another  toll,  and  then  a  pause  again,  and  then  a 
toll,  and  again  a  pause." 

13.  It  is  impossible  to  contradict  a  gentleman  who  has 
been  in  the  forests  of  Cayenne  ;  but  we  are  determined,  as 
soon  as  a  campanero  is  brought  to  England,  to  make  him 
toll  in  a  public  place,  and  have  the  distance  measured. 
The  toucan  has  an  enormous  bill,  makes  a  noise  like  a 
puppy  dog,  and  lays  his  eggs  in  hollow  trees.     How  aston- 
ishing are  the  freaks  and  fancies  of  Nature  !     To  what 
purpose,  we  say,  is  a  bird  placed  in  the  woods  of  Cayenne, 

26 


388  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

with  a  bill  a  yard  long,  making  a  noise  like  a  puppy  dog, 
and  laying  eggs  in  hollow  trees  ?  The  toucans,  to  be  sure, 
might  retort,  To  what  purpose  were  gentlemen  in  Bond 
Street  created  ?  To  what  purpose  were  certain  foolish, 
prating  members  of  Parliament  created  ? — pestering  the 
House  of  Commons  with  their  ignorance  and  folly,  and 
impeding  the  business  of  the  country  ?  There  is  no  end  of 
such  questions.  So  we  will  not  enter  into  the  metaphysics 
of  the  toucan. 

14.  "The  cassique,  in  size,  is  larger  than  the  starling  ; 
he  courts  the  society  of  man,  but  disdains  to  live  by  his 
labors.     When  Nature  calls  for  support,  he  repairs  to  the 
neighboring  forest,  and  there  partakes  of  the  store  of  fruits 
and  seeds,  which  she  has  produced  in  abundance  for  her 
aerial  tribes.     When  his  repast  is  over,  he  returns  to  man, 
and  pays  the  little  tribute  which  he  owes  him  for  his  pro- 
tection ;  he  takes  his  station  on  a  tree  close  to  his  house  ; 
and  there,  for  hours  together,  pours  forth  a  succession  of 
imitative  notes.     His  own  song  is  sweet,  but  very  short. 
If  a  toucan  be  yelping  in  the  neighborhood,  he  drops  it, 
and  imitates  him.     Then  he  will  amuse  his  protector  with 
the  cries  of  the  different  species  of  the  woodpecker ;  and 
when   the  sheep  bleat,  he  will    distinctly  answer  them. 
Then  comes  his  own  song  again,  and  if  a  puppy  dog  or 
a  guinea  fowl  interrupt  him,  he  takes  them  off  admirably, 
and,  by  his  different  gestures  during  the  time,  you  would 
conclude  that  he  enjoys  the  sport." 

15.  Mr.  Waterton  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the 
sloth,   an   animal  of   which   he  appears  to  be  fond,   and 
whose  habits  he  has  studied  with  peculiar  attention. 

"Some  years  ago  I  kept  a  sloth  in  my  room  for  several 
months.  I  often  took  him  out  of  the  house  and  placed 
him  upon  the  ground,  in  order  to  have  an  opportunity  of 
observing  his  motions.  If  the  ground  were  rough,  he 
would  pull  himself  forward,  by  means  of  his  fore  legs,  at 


MISCELLANEOUS.  389 

a  pretty  good  pace  ;  and  he  invariably  shaped  his  course 
toward  the  nearest  tree.  But  if  I  put  him  upon  a  smooth 
and  well-trodden  part  of  the  road,  he  appeared  to  be  in 
trouble  and  distress  ;  his  favorite  abode  was  the  back  of  a 
chair  ;  and,  after  getting  all  his  legs  in  a  line  upon  the  top- 
most part  of  it,  he  would  hang  there  for  hours  together, 
and  often,  with  a  low  and  inward  cry,  would  seem  to  invite 
me  to  take  notice  of  him." 

16.  The  sloth,  in  its  wild  state,  spends  its  life  in  trees, 
and  never  leaves  them  but  from  force  or  accident.     The 
eagle  to  the  sky,  the  mole  to  the  ground,  the  sloth  to  the 
tree  ;  but,  what  is  most  extraordinary,  he  lives  not  upon 
the  branches,  but  under  them.      He  moves  suspended, 
rests  suspended,  sleeps  suspended,  and  passes  his  life  in 
suspense — like  a  young  clergyman  distantly  related  to  a 
bishop.     Strings  of  ants  may  be  observed,  says  our  good 
traveler,  a  mile  long,  each  carrying  in  its  mouth  a  green 
leaf  the  size  of  a  sixpence  !  he  does  not  say  whether  this  is 
a  loyal  procession,  like  Oak-apple  Day,  or  for  what  purpose 
these  leaves  are  carried  ;  but  it  appears,  while  they  are  car- 
rying the  leaves,  that  three  sorts  of  ant-bears  are  busy  in 
eating  them. 

17.  Insects  are  the  curse  of  tropical   climates.      The 
bete  rouge  lays  the  foundation  of  a  tremendous  ulcer.     In 
a  moment  you  are  covered  with  ticks.     Chigoes  bury  them- 
selves in  your  flesh,  and  hatch  a  colony  of  young  chigoes  in 
a  few  hours.     They  will  not  live  together,  but  every  chigoe 
sets  up  a  separate  ulcer,  and  has  his  own  private  portion  of 
pus.     Flies  get  entry  into  your  mouth,  into  your  eyes,  into 
your  nose  ;   you  eat  flies,   drink  flies,   and  breathe  flies. 
Lizards,  cockroaches,  and  snakes  get  into  the-  bed  ;  ants 
eat  up  the  books  ;  scorpions  sting  you  on  the^foot.     Every- 
thing bites,  stings,  or  bruises  ;  every  second  of  your  exist- 
ence you  are  wounded  by  some  piece  of  animal  life  that 
nobody  has  ever  seen  before,  except  Swammerdarn  and 


390  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

Meriam.  An  insect  with  eleven  legs  is  swimming  in  your 
tea-cup,  a  nondescript  with  nine  wings  is  struggling  in  the 
small  beer,  or  a  caterpillar  with  several  dozen  eyes  in  his 
belly  is  hastening  over  the  bread  and  butter  !  All  Nature 
is  alive,  and  seems  to  be  gathering  all  her  entomological 
hosts  to  eat  you  up,  as  you  are  standing,  out  of  your  coat, 
waistcoat,  and  breeches.  Such  are  the  tropics.  All  thirf 
reconciles  us  to  our  dews,  fogs,  vapor,  and  drizzle — to  our 
apothecaries  rushing  about  with  gargles  and  tinctures — to 
our  old,  British,  constitutional  coughs,  sore  throats,  and 
swelled  faces. 


RURAL   SCENES    IN    ENGLAND. 

1.  THE  chief  enjoyment  of  my  several  visits  to  Leam- 
ington lay  in  rural  walks  about  the  neighborhood,  and  in 
jaunts  to  places  of  note  and  interest,  which  are  particularly 
abundant  in  that  region.     The  high-roads  are  made  pleasant 
to  the  traveler  by  a  border  of  trees,  and  often  afford  him 
the  hospitality  of  a  wayside  bench  beneath  a  comfortable 
shade.     But  a  fresher  delight  is  to  be  found  in  the  foot- 
paths, which  go  wandering  away  from  style  to  style,  along 
hedges,  and  across  broad  fields,  and  through  wooded  parks, 
lending  you  to  little  hamlets  of  thatched  cottages,  ancient, 
solitary  farm-houses,  picturesque  old  mills,  streamlets,  pools, 
and  all  those  quiet,  secret,  unexpected,  yet  strangely  famil- 
iar features  of  English  scenery  that  Tennyson  shows  us  in 
his  idyls  and  eclogues. 

2.  These  by-paths  admit  the  wayfarer  into  the  very  heart 
of  rural  life,  and  yet  do  not  burden  him  with  a  sense  of  in- 
trusiveness.     He  has  a  right  to  go  whithersoever  they  lead 
him ;  for,  with  all  their  shaded  privacy,  they  are  as  much 
the  property  of  the  public  as  the  dusty  high-road  itself, 


MISCELLANEO  US, 


391 


An  English  Homestead. 


392  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

and  even  by  an  older  tenure.  Their  antiquity  probably  ex- 
ceeds that  of  the  Roman  ways  ;  the  footsteps  of  the  aborig- 
inal Britons  first  wore  away  the  grass,  and  the  natural  flow 
of  intercourse  between  village  and  village  has  kept  the  track 
bare  ever  since.  An  American  farmer  would  plow  across 
any  such  path,  and  obliterate  it  with  his  hills  of  potatoes 
and  Indian  corn  ;  but  here  it  is  protected  by  law,  and  still 
more  by  the  sac  red  ness  that  inevitably  springs  up,  in  this 
soil,  along  the  well-defined  footprints  of  centuries.  Old 
associations  are  sure  to  be  fragrant  herbs  in  English  nos- 
trils :  we  pull  them  up  as  weeds. 

3.  I  remember  such  a  path,  the  access  to  which  is  from 
Lovers'  Grove,  a  range  of  tall  old  oaks  and  elms  on  a  high 
hill-top,  whence  there  is  a  view  of  Warwick  Castle,  and  a 
wide  extent  of  landscape,  beautiful,  though  bedimmed  with 
English  mist.     This  particular  foot-path,  however,  is  not 
a  remarkably  good  specimen  of  its  kind,  since  it  leads  into 
no  hollows  and  seclusions,  and  soon  terminates  in  a  high- 
road.    It  connects  Leamington  by  a  short  cut  with  the 
small  neighboring  village  of  Lillington,  a  place  which  im- 
presses an  American  observer  with  its  many  points  of  con- 
trast to  the  rural  aspects  of  his  own  country.     The  village 
consists  chiefly  of  one  row  of  contiguous  dwellings,  separated 
only  by  party-walls,  but  ill-matched  among  themselves,  be- 
ing of  different  heights,  and  apparently  of  various  ages, 
though  all  are  of  an  antiquity  which  we  should  call  vener- 
able.     Some  of  the  windows  are  leaden-framed  lattices, 
opening  on  hinges. 

4.  These  houses  are  mostly  built  of  gray  stone  ;   but 
others,  in  the  same  range,  are  of  brick,  and  one  or  two  are 
in  a  very  old  fashion — Elizabethan,  or  still  older — having 
a  ponderous  framework  of  oak,  painted  black,  and  filled 
in  with  plastered  stone  or  bricks.     Judging  by  the  patches 
of  repair,  the  oak  seems  to  be  the  more  durable  part  of  the 
structure.      Some  of  the  roofs  are  covered  with  earthen 


MISCELLANEOUS.  393 

tiles  ;  others  (more  decayed  and  poverty-stricken)  with 
thatch,  out  of  which  sprouts  a  luxurious  vegetation  of 
grass,  house-leeks,  and  yellow  flowers.  What  especially 
strikes  an  American  is  the  lack  of  that  insulated  space, 
the  intervening  gardens,  grass-plots,  orchards,  broad-spread- 
ing shade-trees,  which  occur  between  our  own  village  houses. 
These  English  dwellings  have  no  such  separate  surround- 
ings ;  they  all  grow  together,  like  the  cells  of  a  honey- 
comb. 

5.  Beyond  the  first  row  of  houses,  and  hidden  from  it 
by  a  turn  of  the  road,  there  was  another  row  of  small  old 
cottages,  stuck  one  against  another,  with  their  thatched 
roofs  forming  a  single  contiguity.     These,  I  presume,  were 
the  habitations  of  the  poorest  order  of  rustic  laborers  ;  and 
the  narrow  precincts  of  each  cottage,  as  well  as  the  close 
neighborhood  of  the  whole,  gave  the  impression  of  a  stifled, 
unhealthy  atmosphere  among  the  occupants.      It  seemed 
impossible  that  there  should  be  a  cleanly  reserve,  a  proper 
self-respect  among  individuals,  or  a  wholesome  unfamiliarity 
between  families,  where  human  life  was  crowded  and  massed 
into  such  intimate  communities  as  these.      Nevertheless, 
not  to  look  beyond  the  outside,  I  never  saw  a  prettier  rural 
scene  than  was  presented  by  this  range  of  contiguous  huts. 
For  in  front  of  the  whole  row  was  a  luxuriant  and  well- 
trimmed  hawthorn  hedge,  and  belonging  to  each  cottage 
was  a  little  square  of  garden-ground,  separated  from  its 
neighbors  by  a  line  of  the  same  verdant  fence. 

6.  The  gardens  were  chock-full,  not  of  esculent  vegeta- 
bles, but  of  flowers,  familiar  ones,  but  very  bright-colored, 
and  shrubs  of  box,  some  of  which  were  trimmed  into  artis- 
tic shapes  ;  and  I  remember,  before  one  door,  a  representa- 
tion of  Warwick  Castle  made  of  oyster-shells.      The  cot- 
tagers evidently  loved  the  little  nests  in  which  they  dwelt, 
did  their  best  to  make  them  beautiful,  and   succeeded 
more  than  tolerably  well — so  kindly  did  Nature  help  their 


394  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

humble  efforts  with  its  verdure,  flowers,  moss,  lichens,  and 
the  green  things  that  grew  out  of  the  thatch.  Through 
some  of  the  open  doorways  we  saw  plump  children  rolling 
about  on  the  stone  floors,  and  their  mothers,  by  no  means 
very  pretty,  but  as  happy-loaking  as  mothers  generally  are  ; 
and,  while  we  gazed  at  these  domestic  matters,  an  old  woman 
rushed  wildly  out  of  one  of  the  gates,  upholding  a  shovel, 
on  which  she  clanged  and  clattered  with  a  key.  At  first 
we  fancied  that  she  intended  an  onslaught  against  our- 
selves, but  soon  discovered  that  a  more  dangerous  enemy 
was  abroad ;  for  the  old  lady's  bees  had  swarmed,  and  the 
air  was  full  of  them,  whizzing  by  our  heads  like  bullets. 

7.  Not  far  from  these  two  rows  of  houses  and  cottages 
a  green  lane,  overshadowed  with  trees,  turned  aside  from 
the  main  road,  and  tended  toward  a  square,  gray  tower,  the 
battlements  of  which  were  just  high  enough  to  be  visible 
above   the   foliage.      Wending  our   way   thitherward,   we 
found  the  very  picture  and  ideal  of  a  country  church  and 
churchyard.     The  tower  seemed  to  be  of  Norman  archi- 
tecture, low,  massive,  and  crowned  with  battlements.     The 
body  of  the  church  was  of  very  modest  dimensions,  and  the 
eaves  so  low  that  I  could  touch  them  with  my  walking- 
stick.     We  looked  into  the  windows  and  beheld  the  dim 
and  quiet  interior,  a  narrow  space,  but  venerable  with  the 
consecration  of  many  centuries,  and  keeping  its  sanctity  as 
entire  and  inviolate  as  that  of  a  vast  cathedral.     The  nave 
was  divided  from  the  side  aisles  of  the  church  by  pointed 
arches  resting  on  very  sturdy  pillars  ;  it  was  good  to  see 
how  solemnly  they  held  themselves  to  their  age-long  task 
of  supporting  that  lowly  roof.     There  was  a  small  organ, 
suited  in  size  to  the  vaulted  hollow,  which  it  weekly  filled 
with  religious  sound. 

8.  On  the  opposite  wall  of  the  church,  between  two 
windows,  was  a  mural  tablet  of  white  marble,  with  an  in- 
scription in  black  letters — the  only  such  memorial  that  I 


MISCELLANEOUS,  395 

could  discern,  although  many  dead  people  doubtless  lay  be- 
neath the  floor,  and  had  paved  it  with  their  ancient  tomb- 
stones, as  is  customary  in  old  English  churches.  There 
were  no  modern  painted  windows,  flaring  with  raw  colors, 
nor  other  gorgeous  adornments,  such  as  the  present  taste 
for  mediaeval  restoration  often  patches  upon  the  decorous 
simplicity  of  the  gray  village  church.  It  is  probably  the 
worshiping-place  of  no  more  distinguished  a  congregation 
than  the  farmers  and  peasantry  who  inhabit  the  houses 
and  cottages  which  I  have  just  described.  Had  the  lord  of 
the  manor  been  one  of  the  parishioners,  there  would  have 
been  an  eminent  pew  near  the  chancel,  walled  high  about, 
curtained,  and  softly  cushioned,  warmed  by  a  fire-place  of 
its  own,  and  distinguished  by  hereditary  tablets  and  es- 
cutcheons on  the  inclosed  stone  pillar. 

9.  A  well-trodden  path  led  across  the  churchyard,  and, 
the  gate  being  on  the  latch,  we  entered,  and  walked  round 
among  the  graves  and  monuments.     The  latter  were  chiefly 
head-stones,  none  of  which  were  very  old,  so  far  as  was  dis- 
coverable by  the  dates  ;  some,  indeed,  in  so  ancient  a  ceme- 
tery, were  disagreeably  new,  with  inscriptions,  glittering 
like  sunshine,  in  gold  letters.     The  ground  must  have  been 
dug  over  and  over  again,  innumerable  times,  until  the  soil 
is  made  up  of  what  was  once  human  clay,  out  of  which 
have  sprung  successive  crops  of  gravestones,  that  flourish 
their  allotted  time,  and  disappear,  like  the  weeds  and  flowers 
in  their  briefer  period. 

10.  The  English  climate  is  very  unfavorable  to  the  en- 
durance of  memorials  in  the  open  air.     Twenty  years  of  it 
suffice  to  give  as  much  antiquity  of  aspect,   whether  to 
tombstone  or  edifice,  as  a  hundred  years  of  our  own  drier 
atmosphere  —  so  soon  do  the  drizzly  rains  and  constant 
moisture  corrode  the  surface  of  marble  or  freestone.    Sculpt- 
ured edges  lose  their  sharpness  in  a  year  or  two  ;  yellow 
lichens  overspread  a  beloved  name,  and  obliterate  it  while 


396  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

it  is  yet  fresh  upon  some  survivor's  heart.  Time  gnaws  an 
English  gravestone  with  wonderful  appetite  ;  and,  when  the 
inscription  is  quite  illegible,  the  sexton  takes  the  useless 
slab  away,  and  perhaps  makes  a  hearthstone  of  it,  and  digs 
up  the  unripe  bones  which  it  ineffectually  tried  to  memo- 
rialize, and  gives  the  bed  to  another  sleeper. 

11.  And  yet  this  same  ungenial  climate,  hostile  as  it 
generally  is  to  the  long  remembrance  of  departed  people, 
has  sometimes  a  lovely  way  of  dealing  with  the  records  on 
certain  monuments  that  lie  horizontally  in  the  open  air. 
The  rain  falls  into  the  deep  incisions  of  the  letters,  and 
has  scarcely  time  to  be  dried  away  before  another  shower 
sprinkles  the  flat  stone  again  and  replenishes  those  little 
reservoirs.     The  unseen,  mysterious  seeds  of  mosses  find 
their  way  into  the  lettered  furrows,  and  are  made  to  ger- 
minate by  the  continual  moisture  and  watery  sunshine  of 
the  English  sky  ;  and  by  and  by,  in  a  year,  or  two  years, 
or  many  years,  behold  the  complete  inscription— 

£ere  fytti)  $e  Soty, 

and  all  the  rest  of  the  tender  falsehood — beautifully  em- 
bossed in  raised  letters  of  living  green,  a  bas-relief  of  velvet 
moss  on  the  marble  slab  !  It  becomes  more  legible,  under 
the  skyey  influences,  after  the  world  has  forgotten  the 
deceased,  than  when  it  was  fresh  from  the  stone-cutter's 
hands.  It  outlives  the  grief  of  friends.  I  first  saw  an 
example  of  this  in  Bebbington  churchyard,  in  Cheshire, 
and  thought  that  Nature  must  needs  have  had  a  special 
tenderness  for  the  person — no  noted  man,  however,  in  the 
world's  history — so  long  ago  laid  beneath  that  stone,  since 
she  took  such  wonderful  pains  to  "  keep  his  memory  green." 
Perhaps  the  proverbial  phrase  just  quoted  may  have  had  its 
origin  in  the  natural  phenomenon  here  described. 

12.  While  we  rested  ourselves  on  a  horizontal  monu- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  397 

ment,  which  was  elevated  just  high  enough  to  be  a  con- 
venient seat,  I  observed  that  one  of  the  gravestones  lay  very 
close  to  the  church — so  close  that  the  droppings  of  the 
eaves  would  fall  upon  it.  It  seemed  as  if  the  inmate  of 
that  grave  had  desired  to  creep  under  the  church-wall.  On 
closer  inspection,  we  found  an  almost  illegible  epitaph  on 
the  stone,  and  with  difficulty  made  out  this  forlorn  verse  : 

"  Poorly  lived, 
And  poorly  died, 
Poorly  buried, 
And  no  one  cried." 

It  would  be  hard  to  compress  the  story  of  a  cold  and  luck- 
less life,  death,  and  burial  into  fewer  words,  or  more  im- 
pressive ones  ;  at  least,  we  found  them  impressive,  perhaps 
because  we  had  to  recreate  the  inscription  by  scraping  away 
the  lichens  from  the  faintly  traced  letters. 

13.  The  grave  was  on  the  shady  and  damp  side  of  the 
church,  endwise  toward  it,  the  head-stone  being  within 
about  three  feet  of  the  foundation- wall ;  so  that,  unless  the 
poor  man  was  a  dwarf,  he  must  have  been  doubled  up  to 
fit  him  into  his  final  resting-place.  No  wonder  that  his 
epitaph  murmured  against  so  poor  a  burial  as  this  !  His 
name,  as  well  as  I  could  make  it  out,  was  Treeo — John 
Treeo,  I  think — and  he  died  in  1810,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four.  The  gravestone  is  so  overgrown  with  grass  and 
weeds,  so  covered  with  unsightly  lichens,  and  so  crumbly 
with  time  and  foul  weather,  that  it  is  questionable  whether 
anybody  will  ever  be  at  the  trouble  of  deciphering  it  again. 
But  there  is  a  quaint  and  sad  kind  of  enjoyment  in  defeat- 
ing (to  such  slight  degree  as  my  pen  may  do  it)  the  proba- 
bilities of  oblivion  for  poor  John  Treeo,  and  asking  a  little 
sympathy  for  him,  half  a  century  after  his  death,  and  mak- 
ing him  better  and  more  widely  known,  at  least,  than  any 


398  GEOGRAPHICAL 

other  slumberer  in  Lillington  churchyard,  he  having  been, 
as  appearances  go,  the  outcast  of  them  all. 

14.  You  find  similar  old  churches  and  villages  in  all 
the  neighboring  country,  at  the  distance  of  every  two  or 
three  miles ;  and  I  describe  them,  not  as  being  rare,  but 
because  they  are  so  common  and  characteristic.     The  vil- 
lage of  Whitnash,  within  twenty  minutes'  walk  of  Leam- 
ington, looks  as  secluded,  as  rural,  and  as  little  disturbed 
by  the  fashions  of  to-day  as  if  Dr.   Jephson  had  never 
developed  all  those  Parades  and  Crescents  out  of  his  magic 
well.     I  used  to  wonder  whether  the  inhabitants  had  ever 
yet  heard  of  railways,  or,  at  their  slow  rate  of  progress,  had 
even  reached  the  epoch  of  stage-coaches. 

15.  As  you  approach  the  village,  while  it  is  yet  unseen, 
you  observe  a  tall,  overshadowing  canopy  of  elm-tree  tops, 
beneath  which  you  almost  hesitate  to  follow  the  public 
road,  on  account  of  the  remoteness  that  seems  to  exist  be- 
tween the  precincts  of  this  old-world  community  and  the 
thronged  modern  street  out  of  which  you  have  so  recently 
emerged.     Venturing  onward,  however,  you  soon  find  your- 
self in  the  heart  of  Whitnash,  and  see  an  irregular  ring  of 
ancient  rustic  dwellings  surrounding  the  village  green,  on 
one  side  of  which  stands  the  church,  with  its  square  Nor- 
man tower  and  battlements,  while  close  adjoining  is  the 
vicarage,  made  picturesque  by  peaks  and  gables.     At  first 
glimpse,  none  of  the  houses  appear  to  be  less  than  two  or 
three  centuries  old,  and  they  are  of  the  ancient,  wooden- 
framed  fashion,  with  thatched  roofs,  which  give  them  the 
air  of  birds'  nests,  thereby  assimilating  them  closely  to  the 
simplicity  of  Nature. 

16.  The  church-tower  is  mossy  and  much  gnawed  by 
time ;  it  has  narrow  loopholes  up  and  down  its  front  and 
sides,  and  an  arched  window  over  the  low  portal,  set  with 
small  panes  of  glass,  cracked,  dim,  and  irregular,  through 
which  a  by-gone  age  is  peeping  out  into  the  daylight.    Some 


MISCELLANEOUS.  399 

of  those  old,  grotesque  faces,  called  gargoyles,  are  seen  on 
the  projections  of  the  architecture.  The  churchyard  is  very 
small,  and  is  encompassed  by  a  gray  stone  fence  that  looks 
as  ancient  as  the  church  itself.  In  front  of  the  tower,  on 
the  village  green,  is  a  yew-tree  of  incalculable  age,  with  a 
vast  circumference  of  trunk,  but  a  very  scanty  head  of 
foliage,  though  its  boughs  still  keep  some  of  the  vitality 
which  perhaps  was  in  its  early  prime  when  the  Saxon  in- 
vaders founded  Whitnash.  A  thousand  years  is  no  ex- 
traordinary antiquity  in  the  life-time  of  a  yew. 

17.  We  were  pleasantly  startled,  however,  by  discovering 
an  exuberance  of  more  youthful  life  than  we  had  thought 
possible  in  so  old  a  tree  ;  for  the  faces  of  two  children 
laughed  at  us  out  of  an  opening  in  the  trunk,  which  had 
become  hollow  with  long  decay.     On  one  side  of  the  yew 
stood  a  framework  of  worm-eaten   timber,   the   use   and 
meaning  of  which  puzzled  me  exceedingly,  till  I  made  it 
out  to  be  the  village  stocks — a  public  institution  that,  in 
its  day,  had  doubtless  hampered  many  a  pair  of  shank- 
bones  now  crumbling  in  the  adjacent  churchyard.      It  is 
not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  this  old-fashioned  mode 
of  punishment  is  still  in  vogue  among  the  good  people  of 
Whitnash.     The  vicar  of  the  parish  has  antiquarian  pro- 
pensities, and  had  probably  dragged  the  stocks  out  of  some 
dusty  hiding-place  and  set  them  up  on  their  former  site  as 
a  curiosity. 

18.  I  disquiet  myself  in  vain  with  the  effort  to  hit  upon 
some  characteristic  feature,  or  assemblage  of  features,  that 
shall  convey  to  the  reader  the  influence  of  hoar  antiquity 
lingering  into  the  present  daylight,  as  I  so  often  felt  it  in 
these  old  English  scenes.     It  is  only  an  American  who  can 
feel  it ;  and  even  he  begins  to  find  himself  growing  insensi- 
ble to  its  effect  after  a  long  residence  in  England.     But 
while  you  are  still  new  in  the  old  country,  it  thrills  you 
with  strange  emotion  to  think  that  this  little  church  of 


4:00  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER, 

Whitnash,  humble  as  it  seems,  stood  for  ages  under  the 
Catholic  faith,  and  has  not  materially  changed  since  Wyc- 
lifl'e's  days,  and  that  it  looked  as  gray  as  now  in  Bloody 
Mary's  time,  and  that  Cromwell's  troopers  broke  off  the 
stone  noses  of  those  same  gargoyles  that  are  now  grinning 
in  your  face. 

19.  So,  too,  with  the  immemorial  yew-tree  ;  you  see  its 
great  roots  grasping  hold  of  the  earth  like  gigantic  claws, 
clinging  so  sturdily  that  no  effort  of  time -can  wrench  them 
away ;  and,  there  being  life  in  the  old  tree,  you  feel  all  the 
more  as  if  a  contemporary  witness  were  telling  you  of  the 
things  that  have  been.     It  has  lived  among  men,  and  been 
a  familiar  object  to  them,  and  seen  them  brought  to  be 
christened   and   married   and  buried   in   the   neighboring 
church  and  churchyard,  through  so  many  centuries,  that 
it  knows  all  about  our  race,  so  far  as  fifty  generations  of 
the  Whitnash  people  can  supply  such  knowledge. 

20.  And,  after  all,  what  a  weary  life  it  must  have  been 
for  the  old  tree  !    Tedious  beyond  imagination  !     Such,  I 
think,  is  the  final  impression  on  the  mind  of  an  American 
visitor,  when  his  delight  at  finding  something  permanent 
begins  to  yield  to  his  Western  love  of  change,  and  he  be- 
comes sensible  of  the  heavy  air  of  a  spot  where  the  fore- 
fathers and  foremothers  have  grown  up  together,  intermar- 
ried, and  died,  through  a  long  succession  of  lives,  without 
any  intermixture  of  new  elements,  till  family  features  and 
character  are  all  run  in  the  same  inevitable  mold.     Life 
is  there  fossilized  in  its  greenest  leaf.     The  man  who  died 
yesterday  or  ever  so  long  ago  walks  the  village  street  to- 
day, and  chooses  the  same  wife  that  he  married  a  hundred 
years  since,  and  must  be  buried  again  to-morrow  under  the 
same  kindred  dust  that  has  already  covered  him  half  a  score 
of  times.     The  stone  threshold  of  his  cottage  is  worn  away 
with  his  hob-nailed  footsteps,  shuffling  over  it  from  the 
reign  of  the  first  Plantagenet  to  that  of  Victoria. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  401 

21.  Better  than  this  is  the  lot  of  our  restless  country- 
men, whose  modern  instinct  bids  them  tend  always  toward 
"fresh  woods  and  pastures  new."  Bather  than  such  mo- 
notony of  sluggish  ages,  loitering  on  a  village  green,  toiling 
in  hereditary  fields,  listening  to  the  parson's  drone  length- 
ened through  centuries  in  the  gray  Norman  church,  let  us 
welcome  whatever  change  may  come  —  change  of  place, 
social  customs,  political  institutions,  modes  of  worship — 
trusting  that,  if  all  present  things  shall  vanish,  they  will 
but  make  room  for  better  systems,  and  for  a  higher  type 
of  man  to  clothe  his  life  in  them,  and  to  fling  them  off  in 

turn. 

Nathaniel  Hawthorne. 


SUMMER   AND    WINTER    LIFE    IN    LAPLAND. 

1.  THE  summer  dress  of  the  Laplander  is  well  adapted 
to  the  climate  of  the  mountains.     My  two  men  wore  a  gray 
blouse  of  coarse  woolen  stuff,  reaching  below  the  knee,  open 
at   the    throat,   showing  an  under-garment   of   the   same 
material ;   tight-fitting  leggings  of  reindeer  leather,  bound 
closely  around  the  ankles  by  strips  of  cloth  ;  shoes  of  the 
same  material,  but  heavier,  with  turned-up  pointed  toes  ; 
a  coarse  woolen  cap  ;  a  leather  pouch  on  the  back  to  con- 
tain food,  and  a  belt  on  which  to  hang  a  knife.     The  fe- 
male costume  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  men,  except  that 
the  blouse  is  longer  and  closed  at  the  neck. 

2.  Wherever  the  Laplander  goes  in  summer,  he  takes 
with  him  a  stout  birch  staff,  about  seven  feet  in  length, 
which  is   used   in   climbing    mountains    and   in   crossing 
streams. 

3.  Our  -journey  was  through  a  broken  and  wild  region. 
The  bare  rounded  hills  made  a  picture  of  desolation ;  the 
soil  was  covered  with  stones  of  different  sizes  and  shapes 


402  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

wrenched  from  the  rocks  by  thousands  of  years  of  frost. 
Although  in  August,  the  very  midsummer,  snow-drifts 
were  numerous,  and  sometimes  formed  arches  over  the 
streams.  We  plodded  on,  sometimes  ascending  the  hills 
and  sometimes  on  the  margin  of  the  streams.  The  walking 
at  times  was  exceedingly  tiresome  on  account  of  the  soft 
snow,  into  which  we  sank  to  our  knees,  and  of  the  wet  and 
sandy  soil,  broken  rocks,  slabs,  and  bowlders.  The  scenery 
was  grand  beyond  description.  The  peak  of  Sulitelma, 
6,326  feet  high,  was  sometimes  in  sight  and  sometimes 
hidden  in  a  black  mass  of  clouds  ;  an  immense  glacier  ap- 
peared in  the  distance,  presenting  a  superb  appearance,  the 
ice  being  very  blue,  as  rains  had  melted  the  snow  over  a 
large  part  of  its  surface.  Rills  were  seen  everywhere,  and 
cascades  formed  by  the  melted  snow  poured  down  the  hill- 
sides. When  resting,  a  fire  was  enjoyable,  as  the  thermome- 
ter stood  at  39°. 

4.  Toward  night  we  reached  the  first  Lapp  encampment, 
inhabited  by  kin-people  of  our  female  traveling  companion. 
As  I  looked  around,  a  feeling  of  disgust  crept  over  me  ;  the 
tent  at  its  base  did  not  seem  more  than  eight  feet  in  diame- 
ter ;  in  the  center  a  fire  made  with  juniper  branches  was 
blazing  brightly,  having  been  lighted  on  our  account,  for 
the  people  have  to  be  economical  in  the  use  of  wood.  In 
the  small  space  on  one  side  of  the  tent — the  other  side,  on 
the  left  of  the  door,  having  been  cleared  for  us — lay  hud- 
dled together,  on  reindeer  skins  wet  with  rain,  three  women, 
four  children,  two  men,  and  four  dogs.  The  d5gs  growled 
at  us,  but  were  soon  silenced  by  a  heavy  blow  of  the  fisb, 
applied  to  the  one  which  tried  hardest  to  disturb  the  peace. 
The  clothes  of  the  men,  women,  and  children  were  of  rein- 
deer skins,  with  the  hair  turned  inside  ;  the  faces  of  the 
children  looked  as  if  they  had  never  been  washed,  and  those 
of  the  grown  people  could  not  have  been  touched  by  water 
for  a  fortnight ;  a  large  quantity  of  reindeer  meat  and  other 


MISCELLANEOUS.  403 

kinds  of  food  lay  on  the  skins  on  which  these  people  were 
to  sleep. 

5.  Such  was  the  picture  of  the  first  Lapp  tent  I  saw, 
and  I  may  add  that  it  proved  to  be  the  worst. 

6.  These  Lapps  were  very  kind-hearted,  and  the  woman 
who  had  been  traveling  with  us  was  careful  to  provide  for 
our  comfort.    A  short  time  after  our  arrival,  the  kettle  was 
on  the  fire,  and  she  was  grinding  coffee,  while  the  head  of 
the  family  was  busily  engaged  in  cutting  up  reindeer  meat 
and  putting  it  into  a  brass  pot  hanging  over  the  fire  by  a 
chain.    When  the  meat  was  cooked,  the  father  of  the  family 
gave  to  each  his  portion,  but  the  choice  bits  were  reserved 
for  me  and  my  two  guides  ;  we  had  no  forks  and  no  bread. 
The  bones  were  thrown  to  the  dogs,  who  watched  all  our 
movements  with  hungry  eyes.    At  night,  without  removing 
our  clothes,  in  the  midst  of  the  filth  and  bad  odors,  we  lay 
down  upon  the  damp  skins  and  tried  to  sleep. 

7.  The  next  day  we  came  to  a  larger  tent,  where  we 
found  three  women  and  one  man.     The  dresses  of  the 
women  were  of  a  thick  blue  woolen  cloth,  trimmed  with 
red  and  yellow  bands  at  the  lower  end  of  the  skirt,  with 
under-garments  nicely  embroidered  at  the  openings.     They 
also  wore  belts,  which  are  considered  one  of  the  chief  orna- 
ments, and  some  of  them  are  expensive.     Only  one  had  a 
belt  ornamented  with  silver ;  the  others  were  made  of  cop- 
per.    These  ornaments,  about  an  inch  wide,  were  fastened 
to  the  belt,  and  from  it  hung  a  little  knife  and  a  pair  of 
scissors.     Woolen  leggings  of  a  bluish  color  completed  the 
costume.     One  of  them  wore  new  summer  shoes  made  of 
dressed  reindeer  skins  without  heels  ;  the  others  wore  no 
shoes. 

80  The  women's  faces  had  been  washed,  and  their  hair 

combed  ;  their  heads  were  covered  with  a  rather  graceful 

cap.     I  was  surprised  at  the  good  looks  of  two  of  them  ; 

they  had  blue  eyes,  very  small  hands,  and  fair  hair  of  a 

27 


404:  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

somewhat  reddish  tinge  ;  their  complexions  were  rosy,  and 
the  skin  remarkably  white  where  it  had  been  protected  from 
the  wind.  The  men's  skins  were  quite  red,  having  been 
tanned  by  exposure. 

9.  There  was  not  the  slightest  appearance  of  shyness  in 
these  people ;  we  were  welcomed  at  once ;  coffee,  already 
roasted,  was  ground,  boiled,  and  clarified  by  a  piece  of 
dried  fish  skin,  and  served  to  me  in  a  queer-shaped  little 
silver  cup  which  I  admired  very  much  ;  it  was  a  family 
heir-loom,  said  to  be  about  a  hundred  years  old.     The 
coffee  was  excellent. 

10.  I  had  hardly  finished  a  second  cup  when  a  Lap- 
lander came  in,  followed  by  several  dogs ;  he  had  just  ar- 
rived with  two  hundred  and  seventy-three  reindeer,  which 
were  around  the  tent,  but  the  approach  had  been  so  quiet 
that  we  did  not  hear  him.     Some  of  these  animals  were 
eating  moss,  using  their  forefeet  to  detach  it,  while  others 
were  lying  down  ;  the  males  were  of  large  size,  with  spread- 
ing horns,  the  females  much  smaller.     Not  one  showed  any 
inclination  to  move  off,  the  whole  herd  being  as  still  as  the 
cows  which  come  to  the  farm-yard  to  be  milked  ;  the  bulls 
were  generally  quiet,  though  several  of  them  were  butting 
one  another ;  I  was  told  that  their  horns  often  become  so 
entangled  that  the  animals  can  not  be  separated,  and  have 
to  be  killed. 

11.  I  watched  the  milking  with  great  interest.     Those 
which  were  to  be  milked  were^ipproached  carefully,  and  a 
lasso  was  thrown  gently  over  their  horns  and  knotted  over 
the  muzzle,  to  prevent  them  from  running  away  ;  but  they 
made  no  effort  to  escape.     The  process  of  milking  was 
peculiar.     The  woman  held  in  one  hand  a  wooden  scoop, 
frequently  pressing  hard  with  the  other,  for  the  thick  fluid 
seems  to  come  with  difficulty.     I  was  surprised  at  the  small 
yield,  some  not  giving  enough  to  fill  a  small  coffee-cup, 
bukit  was  very  thick  and  rich,  so  much  so  that  water  had 


MISCELLANEOUS.  405 

to  be  added  before  drinking.  The  milk  of  the  reindeer 
forms  a  very  important  item  in  the  food  of  the  Lapps,  and 
possesses  an  amount  of  nutrition  far  greater  than  that  of 
the  milk  of  the  cow.  The  butter  made  from  it  is  not 
good,  and  the  Lapps  make  but  little  butter,  but  cheese  is 
made  in  large  quantities. 

12.  The  tent  used  by  the  Lapps  is  very  portable,  and  is 
conveyed  from  place  to  place  by  the  reindeer,  in  summer 
on  their  backs  and  in  winter  on  sledges.     Its  frame  is  com- 
posed of  poles  fitting  into  each  other,  easily  put  together, 
and  so  strong  and  well  knit  that  they  can  resist  the  heavi- 
est storm  ;  a  cross-pole  high  up  sustains  an  iron  chain,  at 
the  end  of  which  is  a  hook  to  hold  kettles.     Over  the  frame 
is  drawn  a  kind  of  coarse  cloth,  made  by  themselves,  no 
skins  being  ever  used  ;  it  is  composed  of  two  pieces,  and  is 
made  fast  by  strings  and  pins,  and  is  well  secured ;  the 
porous  quality  of  the  cloth  permits  a  partial  circulation  of 
the  air  ;  a  small  door,  made  of  canvas,  is  suspended  at  Ibhe 
top  of  the  entrance.     The  woolen  cloth  is  exceedingly  du- 
rable, often  lasting  more  than  twenty  years.     In  summer 
the  tents  are  usually  pitched  near  a  spring  or  stream  of 
water,  where  the  dwarf-birch  and  juniper  furnish  fuel,  and 
not  far  distant  from  good  pasture. 

13.  In  winter  the  Lapps  are  obliged  to  search  for  places 
where  the  snow  is  not  more  than  four  or  five  feet  deep ; 
otherwise  the  reindeer  can  not  reach  the  moss  beneath, 
which  constitutes  their  food.     One  day,   while  traveling 
through  an  evergreen   forest,   I  witnessed  an  interesting 
sight.      A  thousand  reindeer  of  all  sizes  had  just  been 
turned  loose.      All  except  the  younger  ones  were  busy 
digging,  first  with  one  forefoot  and  then  with  the  other ; 
the   holes   gradually  became   larger   and   larger,   and  the 
bodies  of  the  animals  more  hidden ;  they  would  not  stop 
until  they  had  reached  the  moss.     On  my  way  back  from 
the  encampment,  another  strange  sight  presented  itself. 


4:06  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

The  reindeer  were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  As  I  approached 
the  place  of  their  pasturage,  I  discovered  that  all  of  them 
had  dug  holes  so  deep  that  I  could  see  only  their  tails  sway- 
ing to  and  fro.  This  was  certainly  a  landscape  I  had  never 
seen  before. 

14.  The  encampment  was  in  a  wood,  and  the  tent  was 
about  twelve  feet  in  diameter  at  its  base.      There  was  a 
blazing  fire  in  the  center,  the  smoke  escaping  by  the  aper- 
ture above.     Two  kettles  filled  with  meat  were  boiling,  for 
they  were  preparing  for  their  evening  meal.     The  tent  was 
crowded,  and  I  wondered  how  we  would  all  be  able  to  sleep 
comfortably.    Outside,  snow-shoes  were  lying  on  the  ground 
or  leaning  against  the  trees ;  harnesses  were  hanging  here 
and  there,  and  quarters  of  frozen  reindeer  were  suspended 
from  the  branches.     A  kind  of  rack  had  been  built  about 
six  feet  from  the  ground,  where  frozen  meat  was  piled. 
There  was  also  a  store  of  smoked  meat,  buckets  of  frozen 
milk,  and  bladders  of  congealed  milk  or  blood. 

15.  After  the  meat  was  cooked,  the  father  divided  it 
into  portions  for  each  member  of  the  family.     The  fattest 
parts  are  considered  the  best,  and  these  were  set  aside  for 
us.     Then  we  began  our  meal,  using  our  fingers  for  forks. 
After  a  long  chat,  principally  upon  religious  matters,  and 
singing  hymns  in  praise  of  God,  they  dressed  themselves 
for  the  night  by  putting  over  their  garments  a  long  rein- 
deer gown,  almost  a  bag.      No  matter  how  severe  the 
weather  may  be,  one  does  not  feel  cold  in  such  a  garb. 

16.  Several  skins  were  prepared  as  a  mattress  for  us, 
and  others  were  given  for  coverings.     The  fire  went  out, 
and  we  were  in  complete  darkness.     The  air  was  perfectly 
still,  and  I  could  hear  from  time  to  time  the  booming 
sound  of  the  cracking  of  the  ice  on  the  surrounding  streams. 
The  dogs  awoke  me  several  times  trying  to  get  under  our 
coverings.     When  we  awoke,  my  thermometer  marked  37° 
below  zero,  and  yet  I  had  rested  very  comfortably.     Im- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  407 

mediately  after  our  awakening,  one  of  the  servant-girls  was 
set  to  make  bread  without  yeast,  a  small  loaf,  prepared 
specially  in  our  honor,  being  baked  in  charcoal. 

17.  Lapps  rarely  remove  their  clothing  during  the  win- 
ter, and  change  only  with  the  change  of  seasons.     When 
they  go  to  church  they  often  put  the  new  dress  over  the 
old  one.     Of  course,  vermin  swarm  in  their  fur  costumes  ; 
but,  when  they  become  unendurable,  the  custom  is  to  ex- 
pose the  garments  to  the  air  when  the  temperature  is  30° 
or  40°  below  zero,  so  that  all  noxious  things  are  destroyed. 
In  summer  this  remedy  can  not  be  applied  ;  but  the  Lap- 
landers who  are  more  cleanly  use  woolen  under-garments, 
which  they  can  wash.     Bathing  is,  of  course,  impracticable 
in  winter,  and  is  not  extensively  practiced  even  in  sum- 
mer. 

18.  The  life  of  a  Lapp  is  one  of  constant  vigilance  ; 
young  and  old  are  continually  on  the  lookout,  and  walk 
with  their  dogs  around  their  herds.     The  wolf  and  the 
glutton  are  the  greatest  enemies  of  the  reindeer,  and  the 
Lapps  have  to  be  on  the  constant  hunt  for  those  wary  foes. 
Reindeer  bulls  often  defend  themselves  with  success  against 
such  enemies,  but  when  a  pack  of  wolves  rushes  into  the 
midst  of  a  herd,  the  latter  are  scattered  in  all  directions,  and 
then  the  owners  have  to  go  long  distances  to  bring  them 
together  again,  often  losing  great  numbers.     If  the  wolves 
are  not  hungry  they  will  not  dare  to  come  near,  but,  if  in 
want  of  food,  they  will  attack  a  herd  in  spite  of  all  precau- 
tions.    Often  the  deer  detect,  by  the  sense  of  smell,  the 
approach  of  their  enemies,  and  move  away.     The  Lapps 
then  know  what  to  expect,  and  with  their  dogs  pursue  the 
wolves,  keeping  the  deer  together  at  the  same  time. 

Paul  du  Chaillu, 


408  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER. 


MOSLEM  EMPIRE  IN  SPAIN. 

1.  As  I  sat  watching  the  effect  of  the  declining  day- 
light upon  the  Alhambra,  I  was  led  into  a  consideration 
of  the  light,  elegant,  and  voluptuous  character  prevalent 
throughout  its   internal   architecture,   and  to  contrast  it 
with  the  grand,  but  gloomy,  solemnity  of  the  Gothic  edi- 
fices reared  by  the  Spanish  conquerors.     The  very  architec- 
ture thus  bespeaks  the  opposite  and  irreconcilable  natures 
of  the  two  warlike  people  who  so  long  battled  here  for  the 
mastery  of  the  peninsula.     By  degrees  I  fell  into  a  course 
of  musing  upon  the  singular  fortunes  of  the  Arabian  or 
Morisco  Spaniards  whose  whole  existence  is  as  a  tale  that  is 
told,  and  certainly  forms  one  of  the  most  anomalous  yet 
splendid  episodes  in  history.     Potent  and  durable  as  was 
their  dominion,  we  scarcely  know  how  to  call  them.     They 
were  a  nation  without  a  legitimate  country  or  name.    A  re- 
mote wave  of  the  great  Arabian  inundation,  they  seemed  to 
have  all  the  impetus  of  the  first  rush  of  the  torrent.     Their 
career  of  conquest  from  the  rock  of  Gibraltar  to  the  cliffs 
of  the  Pyrenees  was  as  rapid  and  brilliant  as  the  Moslem 
victories  of  Syria  and  Egypt.      Nay,  had  they  not  been 
checked  on  the  plains  of  Tours,  all  France,  all  Europe, 
might  have  been  overrun  with  the  same  facility  as  the  em- 
pires of  the  East,  and  the  crescent  at  this  day  have  glittered 
on  the  fanes  of  Paris  and  London. 

2.  Repelled   within  the    limits  of    the   Pyrenees,   the 
mixed  hordes  of  Asia  and  Africa  gave  up  the  Moslem  prin- 
ciple of  conquest,  and  sought  to  establish  in  Spain  peaceful 
and  permanent  dominion.     As  conquerors,  their  heroism 
was  only  equaled  by  their  moderation  ;  and  in  both,  for  a 
time,  they  excelled  the  nations  with  whom  they  contended. 
Severed  from  their  native  homes,  they  loved  the  land  given 
them,  as  they  supposed,  by  Allah,  and  strove  to  embellish 


MISCELLANEOUS.  409 

it  with  everything  that  could  administer  to  the  happiness 
of  man.  Laying  the  foundations  of  their  power  in  a  sys- 
tem of  wise  and  equitable  laws,  diligently  cultivating  the 
arts  and  sciences,  and  promoting  agriculture,  manufactures, 
and  commerce,  they  gradually  formed  an  empire  unrivaled 
for  its  prosperity  by  any  of  the  empires  of  Christendom ; 
and  diligently  drawing  round  them  the  graces  and  refine- 
ments which  marked  the  Arabian  empire  in  the  East  at  the 
time  of  its  greatest  civilization,  they  diffused  the  light  of 
Oriental  knowledge  through  the  western  regions  of  be- 
nighted Europe. 

3.  The  cities  of  Arabian  Spain  became  the  resort  of 
Christian  artisans,  to  instruct  themselves  in  the  useful  arts. 
The  universities  of  Toledo,  Cordova,  Seville,  and  Granada 
were  sought  by  the  pale  student  from  other  lands  to  ac- 
quaint himself  with  the  sciences  of  the  Arabs  and  the  treas- 
ured lore  of  antiquity;  the  lovers  of  the  gay  science  resorted 
to  Cordova  and  Granada  to  imbibe  the  poetry  and  music  of 
the  East ;  and  the  steel-clad  warriors  of  the  North  hastened 
thither  to  accomplish  themselves  in  the  graceful  and  cour- 
teous usages  of  chivalry. 

4.  If  the  Moslem  monuments  in  Spain,  if  the  Mosque 
of  Cordova,  the  Alcazar  of  Seville,  and  the  Alhambra  of 
Granada  still  bear  inscriptions  fondly  boasting  of  the  power 
and  permanency  of  their  dominion,  can  the  boast  be  derided 
as  arrogant  and  vain  ?     Generation  after  generation,  cen- 
tury after  century,  passed  away,  and  still  they  held  posses- 
sion of  the  land.    A  period  elapsed,  longer  than  that  which 
has  passed  since  England  was  subjugated  by  the  Norman 
Conqueror,  and  the  descendants  of  Musa  and  Tavio  might 
as  little  anticipate  being  driven  into  exile  across  the  same 
straits,  traversed  by  their  triumphant  ancestors,  as  the  de- 
scendants of  Eollo  and  William  and  their  veteran  peers  may 
dream  of  being  driven  back  to  the  shores  of  Normandy. 

5.  With  all  this,  however,  the  Moslem  empire  in  Spain 


410  GEOGRAPHICAL  READER. 

was  but  a  brilliant  exotic,  that  took  no  permanent  root  in 
the  soil  it  embellished.  Severed  from  all  their  neighbors 
in  the  West  by  impassable  barriers  of  faith  and  manners, 
and  separated  by  seas  and  deserts  from  their  kindred  of  the 
East,  the  Morisco  Spaniards  were  an  isolated  people.  Their 
whole  existence  was  a  prolonged  though  gallant  and  chival- 
ric  struggle  for  a  foothold  in  a  usurped  land. 

6.  They  were  the  outposts  and  frontiers  of  Islamism. 
The  peninsula  was  the  great  battle-ground  where  the  Gothic 
conquerors  of  the  North  and  the  Moslem  conquerors  of  the 
East  met  and  strove  for  mastery,  and  the  fiery  courage  of 
the  Arab  was  at  length  subdued  by  the  obstinate  and  perse- 
vering valor  of  the  Goth. 

7.  Never  was  the  annihilation  of  a  people  more  com- 
plete than  that  of  the  Morisco  Spaniards.    Where  are  they  ? 
Ask  the  shores  of  Barbary  and  its  desert  places.    The  exiled 
remnant  of  their  once-powerful  empire  disappeared  among 
the  barbarisms  of  Africa,  and  ceased  to  be  a  nation.     They 
have  not  even  left  a  distinct  name  behind  them,  though  for 
nearly  eight  centuries  they  were  a  distinct  people.     The 
home  of  their  adoption  and  of  their  occupation  for  ages 
refuses  to  acknowledge  them,  except  as  invaders  and  usurp- 
ers.    A  few  broken  monuments  are  all  that  remain  to  bear 
witness  to  their  power  and  dominion,  as  solitary  rocks,  left 
far  in  the  interior,  bear  testimony  to  the  extent  of  some 
vast  inundation.     Such  is  the  Alhambra.    A  Moslem  pile  in 
the  midst  of  a  Christian  land  ;  an  Oriental  palace  amid  the 
Gothic  edifices  of  the  West;  an  elegant  memento  of  a  brave, 
intelligent,   and   graceful   people,   who   conquered,   ruled, 
flourished,  and  passed  away. 

Washington  Irving. 


APPENDIX 


As  a  reader,  this  book  may  be  used  by  the  advanced 
classes  as  supplementary  to  the  Fourth  and  Fifth  Readers. 
While  the  articles  selected  treat  exclusively  of  geographical 
topics,  they  can  all  be  classed  as  standard  literature,  and 
they  present  as  great  variety  in  style  as  the  lessons  found 
in  ordinary  reading  books.  The  subject-matter  is  all  con- 
crete, and  such  as  is  calculated  to  excite  interest  and  awaken 
thought  in  a  much  greater  degree  than  the  more  purely 
ideal  and  abstract  articles  which  are  usually  selected  for 
reading. 

Its  chief  use,  however,  will  be  in  connection  with  the 
study  of  geography.  When  any  topic  in  the  geography  is 
studied,  the  lessons  in  the  reader  upon  the  same  topic  should 
be  read.  The  dry  statistics  and  outline  descriptions  are 
thus  supplemented  by  detail  and  story,  so  that  vivid  im- 
ages take  the  place  of  vague  notions  in  the  mind. 

For  example,  when  the  pupils  are  studying  the  general 
topic  of  mountains,  they  should  read  the  articles  which 
describe  special  mountain  ranges  and  glaciers ;  and  when 
they  are  studying  the  subject  of  volcanoes  and  earth- 
quakes, they  should  read  the  articles  giving  the  details  of 
special  volcanic  eruptions,  and  the  destruction  occasioned 
by  notable  earthquakes.  In  this  way,  both  the  lesson  in 
geography  and  the  exercise  in  reading  are  invested  with 


APPENDIX. 

additional  interest,  the  most  vivid  and  permanent  ideas, 
however,  being  obtained  from  the  reading. 

The  method  by  which  the  best  results  will  be  obtained 
is  somewhat  as  follows  : 

The  subject  of  each  lesson  should  be  carefully  studied 
by  the  pupil  before  it  is  read  in  the  class.  Each  new  word 
should  be  looked  out  both  for  meaning  and  for  pronuncia- 
tion, using  the  dictionary  and  the  special  vocabulary  at  the 
end  of  the  volume.  This  study  will  give  the  pupil  confi- 
dence, and  will  prevent  that  hesitation  which  is  a  fruitful 
source  of  bad  reading. 

In  class,  the  lesson  should  be  read  in  natural  and  pleas- 
ant tones,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  convey  to  the  listener 
the  exact  meaning  of  the  author.  Excellence  in  delivery 
will  be  better  secured  by  attention  to  the  thoughts  ex- 
pressed than  by  drill  in  the  manner  of  expression. 

After  the  lesson  is  read,  the  substance  should  be  related 
by  the  pupils  in  their  own  language,  testing  their  under- 
standing and  memory,  and  cultivating  their  powers  of 
speech.  The  teacher  should  supplement  matter,  as  given 
by  the  pupils,  by  questions,  designed  to  make  corrections, 
if  any  are  needed,  and  to  supply  omissions.  The  article 
read  should  also  be  compared  with  the  corresponding  lesson 
found  in  the  .geography. 

The  lesson  read  may  also  be  assigned  as  a  composition 
exercise,  the  pupils  writing  from  memory  what  they  Lav 
read  or  heard  road.  When  this  last  exercise  is  first  tried, 
the  pupils  will  probably  make  more  effort  to  reproduce  the 
language  than  the  thought.  The  teacher,  however,  will 
discourage  this,  and,  by  careful  questioning,  will  turn  the 
attention  more  and  more  to  the  thought ;  and  the  pupils 
will  finally  acquire  the  ability  of  writing  the  substance  of 
the  lesson  in  well-considered  discourse  without  using  the 
phraseology  of  the  book. 

The  book  from  which  the  article  is  selected,  and  the 


APPENDIX.  413 

author,  may  next  be  discussed,  for  the  purpose  of  gaining 
more  knowledge  upon  these  and  kindred  subjects,  and  of 
discovering  the  secret  of  felicitous  and  forcible  expression. 

The  highest  welfare  of  the  school  demands  a  school 
library ;  and,  where  this  is  lacking,  the  waste  of  time  and 
opportunity  each  year  is  more  than  would  "be  the  cost  of 
the  necessary  books.  Without  the  library,  however,  the 
teacher  can  call  the  attention  of  the  pupils  to  books  which 
contain  valuable  and  interesting  matter,  so  that  when  op- 
portunity occurs  they  may  be  secured  and  read.  In  these 
days  of  cheap  books,  any  pupil  having  a  great  desire  to 
read  any  work  will  find  means  of  gratifying  it. 

The  following  is  nearly  a  complete  list  of  the  books  from 
which  extracts  have  been  made  in  compiling  this  work.  A 
few  of  the  articles  were  found  copied  in  papers  without 
credit,  and  their  origin  could  not  be  ascertained.  Many 
other  selections  were  made,  but  omitted  for  want  of  room. 

We  would  here  express  our  thanks  to  the  authors  and 
publishers  of  copyright  books  who  have  given  us  permis- 
sion to  use  the  matter  selected. 

ABBOTT,  JACOB  : 

"  Travels  in  Syria  and  Palestine."  % 

ABBOTT,  J.  S.  0. : 

"  Life  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte." 

ATLANTIC  MONTHLY. 

BARLOW,  Lieutenant : 

"  Reports  of  United  States  Exploring  Expeditions." 

G.  B.  BELZONI  : 

<;  Narrative   of    tlie   Operations    and   Recent   Discoveries 
within  the  Pyramids,  Temples,  and  Tombs  in  Egypt 
and  Nubia." 
BIRD,  ISABELLA  L. 
BRASSEY,  Mrs. : 

"  Around  the  World  in  the  Yacht  Sunbeam." 


APPENDIX. 

BEOWNE,  J.  Ross : 

"The  Land  of  Thor." 

CHILD,  L.  MARIA  : 

''Miscellanies." 

COLEEIDGE,  S.  T. : 

"Poems." 

CURTIS,  GEORGE  W. : 

"  Nile  Notes  of  a  Howadji." 
"  The  Howadji  in  Syria." 

Du  CIIAILLU,  PAUL: 

"  Stories  of  the  Gorilla." 

"  The  Land  of  the  Midnight  Sun." 

ELIOT,  CHARLES  W. : 

"Letters  from  Abroad." 

ECLECTIC  REVIEW. 

GOLDSMITH,  OLIVER  : 

"  History  of  the  Earth." 

GREELEY,  HORACE  : 

"  Overland  Journey  to  California." 

GUTOT,  ARNOLD: 

"  Earth  and  Man." 

HARPER'S  MAGAZINE. 

HAWTHORNE  : 

u  Our  Old  Home." 
HAYES,  Dr.  I.  I. : 

"  An  Arctic  Boat  Journey." 
II.  II.  (Mrs.  Helen  Hunt  Jackson) : 

"  Bits  of  Travel  at  Home." 
HUMBOLDT,  ALEXANDER  VON  : 

"  Travels  in  the  Equatorial  Regions  of  America.' 
IRVING,  WASHINGTON  : 

"  The  Alhambra." 
KINGLAKE,  ALEXANDER  W. : 

"  Eothen ;  or,  Travels  in  the  East." 


APPENDIX.  415 

LIVINGSTON,  DAVID  : 

"  Narrative  of  an  Expedition  to  the  Zambezi  and  its  Tribu- 
taries." 

LONGFELLOW,  H.  W. : 

Introduction  to  "  The  Children  of  the  Lord's  Supper." 

LYELL,  Sir  CHARLES  : 

;'  Travels  in  the  United  States." 

MOORE,  THOMAS: 
"  Poems." 
NORTH  BRITISH  REVIEW. 

PHILLIPS,  JOHN: 

"  Vesuvius." 

PRESCOTT,  W.  H.  •. 

u  Conquest  of  Peru." 

RICHARDSON,  A.  D. : 

"  Beyond  the  Mississippi." 

SEWARD,  W.  H. : 

"  Travels  Around  the  World." 

SHELLEY,  P.  B. : 
"  Poems." 

SILLIMAN,  BENJAMIN: 

"  Visit  to  Europe." 

SMITH,  SYDNEY  : 

"  Essays  and  Reviews." 

SOMERVILLE,  MARY  : 

"  Physical  Geography." 

SQUIER,  E.  G. : 

"Peru:  Incidents  of  Travel  and  Exploration  in  the  Land 
of  the  Incas." 

STANLEY,  EDWIN  J. : 

"  Rambles  in  Wonderland." 

STEPHENS,  JOHN  L. : 

"  Travels  in  Egypt  and  the  Holy  Land." 

STROTHER,  D.  H. : 

u  Virginia  Illustrated." 


416  APPENDIX. 

TAYLOR,  BAYAKD: 

"  The  Land  of  the  Saracen." 
"  A  Visit  to  India,  China,  and  Japan." 
"  Journey  to  Central  Africa." 

(<  Northern  Travel :  Summer  and  Winter  Pictures  of  Swe- 
aen,  Denmark,  and  Lapland." 

TEMPLE  BAR. 

TYNDALL,  Professor  JOHN  : 

"  Hours  of  Exercise  in  the  Alps." 

WILLIS,  NATHANIEL  P. : 

"  Pencilings  by  the  Way." 

YOUMANS,  E.  L. : 

"  Hand-Book  of  Household  Science.^ 


YOOABULAKY. 


Abencerra'ges. 

Aclahuasas  (a-kla-wa'-sas). 

^Edile  Glau'cus  (e'-dlle). 

Agassiz  (ag'-as-e). 

Aletsch  (a'-letsh). 

Alpnach  (alp'-nak). 

Altai  (al-tl'). 

Arve  (arv). 

Arveiron  (ar-va'-rong). 

Asyoot  (a-se-oof). 

Baise  (ba'-ye). 

Bashikonay  (ba-she-ko-m'). 

Bedouin  (bSd'-oo-een). 

Brah'min. 

Buddha  (bood'-a). 

Buenos  Ayres(bu'-nos  airs;  Span- 
ish, bwa'-noce  T-ress). 

Cairo  (kl'-ro). 

Cala'bria  (Italian,  ka-la'-bre-a). 

Carapagna  (kiim-pan'-ya). 

Caracas  (ka-ra'-kas). 

Cata'nia  (Italian,  ka  ta'-ne-a). 

Chamouni  (sha-moo-ne'). 

Chary bdis  (ka-rib'-dis). 

Chucaripe  (choo-ka-re'-pa). 

Cleopat'ra. 

Copacabana  (ko-pii-ka-ba'-na). 

Dalecarlian  (dal-e-kar'-le-an). 

Den'dereh. 

Diomede  (di-o-me'-de). 

Esquimaux  (Ss'-ke-mo). 

Euphe'mia  (Italian,  Eufemia, 
a-oo-fa'-me-a). 

Gauchos  (gow'-choce). 


Gethsemane  (gheth-s8m'-a-ne). 

Getroz  (zheh-tro'). 

Geysers  (ghf-zerz). 

Glacier  de   Bois   (glas'-e-a    d6h 

bwa). 

Glacier  de  Boissons  (bwii-song'). 
Harmattan'. 
Haroun-al-Raschid    (ha-roon'-al- 

ra-sheed'). 
Hercula'neum. 
Hiinala'ya  (correctly,   him-a'-la- 

ya). 

Howadji  (ho-wad'-je). 
Kanagawa  (ka-na-ga'-wa). 
Kho'dabund. 
Kilauea  (ke-low-a'-a). 
Kiliraandjaro  (ke-le-raan-ja-ro'). 
La  Chingana  (la  cheen-ga'-na). 
La  Guayra  (la  gwi'-ra). 
T>«'jgarf  jal  (low'-garf  yal). 
J,e  Chabli  (leh  shab-le'). 
Lindarax'a. 
Llanos  (lya'-noce). 
Lopiz'ium. 

Machiavelli  (mii-ke-a-vel'-le). 
Maelstrom  (mail'-strum). 
Mariposa  (ma-re-po'-sa). 
Martigny  (mar-teen'-ye). 
Mer  de  Glace  (mair  deh  glas). 
Misericorde  (me-za-re-kord'). 
Mon'aco. 

Montagne  Vert  (mong-tan'  vair). 
Monte  Nuovo  (m6n'-ta    noo-o'- 
vo). 


418 


PRONOUNCING    VOCABULARY. 


Mont  Mauvoisin  (mong  mo-vwa- 

zang'). 

Mont  Pleuveur  (pluh-viihr'). 
Mosi-oa-tunya  (mo'-ze-o-a-toon'- 

yft). 

Mos'koe. 

Neve  (na-va').    The  upper  part  of 

a  glacier. 

Padre  March!  (pii'-dra  mar'-ke). 
Pisa  (pe'-za). 
Pompeii  (p6m-pa'-ye). 
Pomponia'nus. 
Pozzuoli  (p6t-soo-6'-le). 
Reykjavik  (ri'-ke-ii-vik). 
Rochetta  (ro-k6t'-tii). 
Rosenthal  (ro'-zen-tal). 
Satsupo'ra. 
Sherdvi  (sha'-ro-ve). 
Solfatara  (sole-fa-ta'-ra). 
Stabise  (stab'-e  e). 
Strokhr  (stro'-ker). 
Stroinboli  (strom'-bo-le). 


St.  Ber'nard  (French,  sang  bair- 

nar'). 

St.  Branchier  (sang  brang'-she-a). 
Suti-coya  (soo'-te-ko'-ya). 
Taj  Mahal'. 

Taormina  (ta-or-me'-na). 
Terramo'to. 
Titicaca  (te-te-ka'-ka). 
Tropea  (tro-pa'-a). 
Turkistan'. 

Tyrol  (tir'-ul ;  German,  te-role'). 
Tyrrhene  (tur-reen'). 
Vaeroe  (va'-rilh-feh). 
Vaishya  (vish'-ya). 
Val  de  Bagnes  (viil  d8h  ban). 
Vivarrambla  (ve-vur-ram'-bla). 
Wady-el-Seib  (wa'-de-el-sa-eeb'). 
Weisshorn  (vlce'-horn). 
Wieliczka  (ve-litch'-ka). 
Yosemite  (yo-sem'-e-ta). 
Yupanqui  (yoo-pan'-ke). 
Zambesi  (ziim-ba'-ze). 


THE   END. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRAE 
BERKELEY 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DU¥^  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to^a  «£  oj 
50c  per  volume  after  the  third  aay  Bookg  not  m 


50TH-7/16 


YC134088 


UIMIVERS' 


